Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said his government won’t be bullied into taking shortcuts to speed approval for Hong Kong financier Tony Fung’s purchase of The Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns, a deal Fung’s Aquis Group has linked to its proposed development of an A.15 billion destination on the coast not far from the city.
Speaking at a Community Cabinet event in Cairns, local media cited the premier as saying Queensland sought to ensure it only awarded casino licenses to “respectable, reputable business interests”.
Fung has said the super-resort, Aquis at the Great Barrier Reef, was being reconsidered because the state’s Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation failed to clear the group’s $260 million takeover of Reef owner Reef Casino Trust by a November 28 deadline.
Fung has been in a race against time to own an Australian casino before the end of the year so he can list his company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2016. The Reef also would provide a revenue stream he could leverage, together with a stock listing, to raise funds for Aquis at the Great Barrier Reef.
OLGR Commissioner David Ford denies Fung’s claim that delays in approval of the trust purchase were the fault of his authority and said any attempt to rush the probity process would harm the nation’s casino industry. He said the fault lies with Aquis, which had not responded to requests for interviews and information in a timely manner.
“OLGR has been attempting to work with Aquis to finalize this investigation in a way which would meet both its commercial objectives and the legislative and policy requirements for satisfactory finalization of proper and complete probity checks,” he said in a statement. “This outcome has always required a very high level of co-operation between the applicant and the regulator. This was heightened by the very constrained time frame in which Aquis sought to finalize this matter. In these circumstances, it might have been expected that Aquis would respond by providing information and agreeing to interviews as quickly as possible. This was not the case.”
Fung has said he still intends to buy Reef Casino Trust’s Canberra Casino in the Australian Capital Territory at a price reduced from $9 million to $6 million.
Newman has said he remains a supporter of the Barrier Reef project, but not at all costs.
“Our government is doing everything possible to make sure that Aquis happens. We understand how important it is to the people of Cairns and the economy of north Queensland and the tourism industry,” said Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney.
The preliminary license awarded to Aquis pending regulatory approvals is one of three Queensland has created to boost foreign tourism and help revive the state’s slumping economy. The other licenses are for Gold Coast and the capital of Brisbane.
Terry Agnew, CEO of Tower Holdings, which had tendered a failed bid for a $2 billion destination casino at Great Keppel Island, said his company was ready to renew its offer should the Aquis license become available.
“Tower Holdings would be very keen to take up this opportunity and deliver on its proposal that will capitalize on the government’s agenda and positively change the face of central Queensland’s tourism industry,” he said. “The Central Queensland community are overwhelmingly supportive of the Great Keppel Island project and are eager to get the project started as quickly as possible.”
Seeney, however, said no firm decision had been made as to what would happen should the Aquis proposal not go ahead.
