Queen’s Wharf is a once-in-a-generation urban renewal project for this great city of ours

Huge opportunity awaits for The Star to showcase Queen’s Wharf and help drive awareness of Brisbane and its beauty.

It is almost 25 years since Brisbane hosted World Expo 88, an event that transformed South Bank and brought to life what historically had been a largely derelict industrial area.

Remember ‘The Skyneedle’, the symbolic 88m tower built specifically for Expo? Or the 100 or so sculptures acquired for the site? Brisbane came of age over that six-month period when Expo attracted around 18 million visitors, more than double the number predicted.

As a Queenslander, I have vivid recollections of Expo and what it meant to Brisbane. I’ve said previously that it was masterfully delivered by Sir Llew Edwards and it changed the face of Brisbane culturally, physically and economically. Brisbane was connected to the world and Expo helped promote Queensland as a global tourism destination.

An artist’s impression of Queen's Wharf Brisbane from George St.

As the CEO of The Star Entertainment Group, I am now excited to be involved in the next once-in-a-generation urban renewal project for this great city of ours. The Queen’s Wharf development looks across the Brisbane River to South Bank. We will connect with what has become the arts and cultural centre of Brisbane via a pedestrian bridge named after Australia’s first indigenous federal politician, Neville Bonner AO.

The assets we will bring online are phenomenal. Four hotels, more than 50 restaurants, bars and cafes, luxury retail outlets, multimillion-dollar art installations across the public spaces of the precinct, refurbished heritage buildings, a reinvigorated riverfront, world-class gambling facilities and a Sky Deck that will look out over the river from 100m above William St and is destined to become Brisbane’s favourite selfie destination. We’re proud of what we’re delivering for Brisbane and for Queensland.

The economic benefits are considerable. Queen’s Wharf will create thousands of jobs, both on site and through supply chains. Already, there have been more than 2000 construction workers on the site.

The tourism forecasts are also compelling. Queen’s Wharf is set to attract 1.4 million additional tourists each year. It will become a world-renowned destination. The diversity of offerings will be unique, as will the beautiful mix of contemporary architecture alongside one of the greatest collections of culturally significant heritage buildings in Australia.

But Queen’s Wharf will not just be for tourists. Far from it. This is a development for those of us lucky enough to call Brisbane home. The dining options, the Sky Deck, the enormous Leisure Deck on the seventh level that will be an event space and meeting place for locals and visitors alike. This will be a destination of which Brisbanites will be proud and want to experience.

We were awarded the privilege of delivering the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane project by the Queensland government in 2015, commenced demolition works in 2017, and started construction in early 2018. It has been a long journey, but the finish line is now in sight. A staged opening from the second half of this year is a hugely exciting proposition.

The view from the Sky Deck at Queen's Wharf Brisbane. Artist's impression.

It would be remiss of me not to address the challenges that The Star Entertainment Group faced in 2022. Regulators in NSW and Queensland found us unsuitable to hold casino licenses, we had significant fines imposed upon us, and our Sydney licence is currently suspended.

We are committed to returning to suitability in both states and we are open, and continue to operate, in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney for the almost 20 million guests we welcome each year. AUSTRAC has also commenced civil penalty proceedings. These are matters we take extremely seriously.

We do need to fundamentally change our culture, be more transparent, have more robust governance and greater accountability. We need to act swiftly when issues arise. At the heart of it all, we need to earn back the trust and confidence of the community. We are committed to improvement and to building a better, stronger and more sustainable company. We are working hard to remediate ourselves and the opportunities that await drive us to ensure we make the necessary improvements within our business as soon as possible.

The Star Entertainment Group chief executive and CEO Robbie Cooke.

Looking ahead, I do see blue sky. After more than two years of Covid-19 related impacts including lockdowns, restrictions and community health concerns, we are returning to a level of normality in our operations. We have the suitability issues and a changing regulatory landscape to contend with and that cannot be underestimated. But the future offers opportunity, and includes, of course, the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The eyes of the world will be on this city as we prepare to host the Games – and the global gaze will fall on us as soon as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics stage their closing ceremony. We will have a four-year run into the Games to start telling our story, creating a narrative that will act as a magnet to bring people to the biggest show on the planet. They will experience Brisbane and then want to come back.

It’s a great time to be a Queenslander. It’s also a huge opportunity for The Star to showcase Queen’s Wharf and help drive that awareness of Brisbane and its beauty. Just like Expo did almost a quarter of a century ago.