Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate’s new plan for a casino resort on the city’s waterfront has met severe criticism from Southport MPs and other involved parties, local media reported.
The Gold Coast Bulletin revealed late last week that the city Mayor had sent a letter to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk with a proposal for the construction of an integrated resort on a portion of public land in central Southport, currently occupied by Queen’s Park Tennis Club, the Southport Bowls Club, the Helensvale Golf Club, and other facilities.
If the plan is approved in the form presented by Mayor Tate, that would require the relocation of some of the above-mentioned properties, a move that involved parties blasted immediately after news about the project surfaced.
The Queensland government rejected a A$3-billion integrated resort scheme for a site on the Southport Spit several weeks ago. The complex was to be built by Chinese-backed investors from ASF Consortium. The investor group was selected as the preferred candidate for a development of this kind in the Gold Coast region back in 2014. A previous proposal by ASF Consortium for a resort on the man-made Wavebreak Island was also dismissed by state officials.
Under Mayor Tate’s recently pitched plan, a future casino complex could create multiple jobs, development and investment activity, and will boost the region’s tourism significantly. Said plan calls for the development of a 6.7-hectare site.
Southport MP Rob Molhoek has become one of the staunchest opponents of the project, arguing that the proposed site was “crazy” and that the use of public land was highly inappropriate. According to the politician, a resort of this kind should be located closer to the water, as it had been per ASF Consortium’s previous plans.
The wave of opposition and criticism was also joined by Mike Ford, President of Tennis Gold Coast. Mr. Ford told local media that the current location of Queen’s Park Tennis Club presented a healthy community image and that its potential relocation to vacate room for a casino resort would harm that good image.
The tennis official pointed out that he was not opposing progress and development but disapproved of the relocation of a facility that has provenly been doing good for more than eight decades in favor of a facility that could eventually do harm.
Mayor Tate sent his letter to Premier Palaszczuk on August 8. The state’s top official and her administration are yet to reveal officially whether the new proposal would be considered any further.
The Gold Coast region currently hosts one casino resort – The Star Gold Coast, located in Broadbeach and formerly known as Jupiters Gold Coast. The property is owned and operated by Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group. It is currently undergoing a nearly A$1-billion renovation and expansion, which will see it add a new hotel tower to its existing operations.
