Queensland Premier Campbell Newman’s intention of rebuilding Brisbane’s Centra Business District will now, at least potentially, include a new five-star hotel and casino, The Australian is reporting.
The Premier has made no bones about his intentions to breathe new life to a city that currently has what he describes as “old, run down, terrible buildings which are substandard for the hard working public servants”. So as part of his plans, which he bared at a conference with the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Newman is looking into the possibility of jolting life to the locale. And what better way to do that than to introduce a brand-spankin’ new hotel and casino?
Two of Australia‘s biggest casino developers – Crown Casino and Echo Entertainment Group – have already touched base with Newman’s constituents over the possibility of developing the site that would see its existing high-rise towers give way to a potential hotel and casino.
At the aforementioned conference, Newman described his plans for the Brisbane CBD and called for support in his goal of revitalizing the “parliamentary precinct” with a new government headquarters that will be funded by the private sector. With this new headquarters built, the old high-rise towers that had the premier’s and cabinet offices would then be demolished to give way for a potential site for a hotel and casino that could either go to Echo Entertainment or Crown Casino.
On paper, it sounds like a solid plan. But anytime you try to convince citizens to pay for the building of a new high rise tower with their tax money, that gets a little complicated. The vision is there, though, and you can’t knock Premier Campbell Newman for being pro-active in his desire to see some life infused to an aging business district. But we’ll have to wait to see how the people will take to paying for a new government headquarters with their own money.
