There were two well-publicised news stories last weekend, both seriously challenging aspects of the AQUIS proposal
On Sunday, ABC's Background Briefing provided a balanced and insightful account of the costs and perceived benefits of the project
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/2014-09-07/5716736
The above link represents part of a larger Background Briefing
investigation.
of gambling in Cairns if the Aquis development goes ahead.
The article below is
an Aquis Aware three point response to the
Conversation piece.
The Aquis proposal is a battle over the type, size and location of
development
in the Cairns region. Markham and Young have cogently
presented the downsides
to the type of development on offer. It is worth
noting that Cairns already has
a casino in its town centre so it is
hard to imagine how a city this size could
cope with two casinos. The
re-branding of Cairns as a mega-gambling
destination will have
irreversible and damaging consequences for its current
green and
eco-friendly tourist image. Aquis-type enclave tourism will ruin
Cairns’s successful marketing strategy based on its world heritage reef
and rainforest. Once lost those tourists will never return.
Regarding size, the current $8.15 billion proposal is simply too big.
The Cairns population of 152,000 will increase by 55,000 in four years
or around
five times the current annual growth rate. This will place
huge pressure on
hospitals, schools, water supply and roads. There is no
evidence that Cairns,
built largely on a north south littoral with sea
on one side and mountains on
the other, has the capacity to cope with
this sudden increase.
Already Cairns's roads are congested at peak
hours. During Aquis construction,
at a conservative estimate, there
would be 27,000 additional cars (roughly one
per two new people)
commuting to and from the Yorkeys Knob development site
10 minutes north of Cairns. No infrastructure funds are in place to cope with
this
rapid development, nor is there any indication how much Aquis will
contribute towards these essential costs. At face value, much of the
financial
outlay will fall back on local ratepayers. In addition, there
will be escalating
rental prices as Cairns takes on the attributes of a
mining town.
Finally, there is its location. The project is to be built on a known
flood plain
with serious concerns that the changing course of the Barron
River over time
could lead to an inundation of the flood plain on which
Aquis will be built.
Also, building a mega-resort of this scale so far
out of town will take busines
and money away from the Cairns city
centre and is likely to suck the life out of it.
The Aquis development is clearly the wrong size, the wrong type and is
in the
wrong place. The debate will continue between those who see
financial and
job benefits in the proposal versus those who are
sceptical and value
steady, sustainable development for the region and
its current, high quality of life.
Happy reading and listening and don’t forget to contact us with comments or offers of support.
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Our mailing address is:
Aquisaware.org
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Cairns, QLD 4870
Australia
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