GKI Why?

“Was not a game-changing project for the region and would not deliver significant regional economic benefit”. I understand this is the condensed reason a boutique casino licence was not granted to the Tower Holdings Great Keppel Island resort development. Do those who make this decision think GKI is just off the Gold Coast, not Capricorn Coast? Unbelievable, particularly as it states ‘for the region’. A $600 million project, creating thousands of jobs, providing immense ongoing indirect benefits to our region and putting us on the international tourist map is not a game changer! What in the region is currently comparable to make this project appear to George Street as ‘just another one’? It’s incomprehensible; I can’t imagine what Terry Agnew must be feeling. It can be argued when Tower Holdings started this GKI dream that it wasn’t conditional on a casino licence so blame should not be put squarely on the State Government should Tower walk away. However over 10 years it’s not unrealistic for the goal posts to change. If a boutique casino licence is necessary to get the funding needed to build the resort why deny it. Here is a job and revenue creating project the government don’t have to build a railway line for, it’s basically paperwork, or is it. For some reason the Government, previous and current, only want to issue 2 additional casino licences. Cairns and Gold Coast were the locations. The value of these licences are naturally higher the less made available. Granting them to centres with higher population and international airports (or close to) has it validation. But what about the middle of Queensland, the part that pay most of the state’s bills? A development like the GKI resort could trigger other significant projects in the region, maybe even an international airport. Dare I say a game changer for the region! Yes there are some ‘maybe’s’, but Terry Agnew is reported saying, “…take it as a condition of the (casino) licence being granted that construction would start in 6 months or he would hand it back”; six months $600 million starting to be pumped into the region or status quo. Had an Independent won the seat of Keppel or Rockhampton what would the decision be; wouldn’t that been a game changer.