‘Bye bye Benny’: Calls for Hong Kong tycoon to forfeit neglected Double Island
Hong Kong-based Benny Wu said Double Island would be an elite resort with day use facilities as required by the lease – but there is no evidence he has met a March 31 government deadline to act. Now, there are calls for him to be stripped of the lease.
Cairns
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CALLS for Hong Kong-based Benny Wu to be stripped of the lease on Double Island are ramping up from politicians, with no indication he has met a March 31 deadline to have day use facilities up to scratch and open to the public.
Mr Wu’s Fortune Island Holding Company bought 17.3ha of the island – with a resort that once hosted A-listers such as Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston – for $5.68m in 2012.
He said at the time the resort would be for “very rich” tourists at “the very top end of the market”.
The resort and day use facilities have fallen into disrepair despite strident calls over the years for Mr Wu to act.
Last August the State Resources Department gave Mr Wu until March 31, warning if he failed to meet conditions he could forfeit the lease.
Mr Wu was enthusiastically welcomed by the city’s leaders in 2012 when he bought Double Island and forked out $18m for the Acacia Hotel, with much fanfare over what he said would be an $80m redevelopment of the Esplanade property – which has never occurred.
He also bought historic Whitfield House for $3.25m in 2013 and that too has languished.
State Member for Barron River Craig Crawford said time had run out for Mr Wu.
“His time is up,’’ Mr Crawford said.
“He had until today to get the resort operational.
“It’s obvious the resort is not open and this former jewel off the tourist mecca of Palm Cove has been left to fall into rack and ruin,” he said.
“The public expects action, and so do I.
“We know the Resources Department has a process to follow, but they should move quickly on this, do their assessment, and make their decision,” Mr Crawford said.
“But as far as I’m concerned on Double Island, it’s time to say bye bye Benny – see you Mr Wu.’’
State Member for Cairns and Assistant Tourism Minister Michael Healy said the dilapidated tourism asset deserved to be restored.
“It is such a shame that Double Island resort that once played host to the rich and famous like Matrix star Keanu Reeves is not open,’’ he said.
“It is a wonderful but neglected tourist destination.
“At the very least, the day facilities should be open to the public and accessible from the Palm Cove jetty by water taxi.’’
There is a website advertising the resort at Double Island.
A Department of Resources spokeswoman said the department was expecting a condition report from the lessee by March 31.
“Once it’s received, we will consider the report and determine the next appropriate course of action,” she said.
Cairns Regional Council lobbied the state government in 2019, when it held a State Transport and Resources Committee inquiry into the management, control and enforcement of lease conditions on Queensland islands, for something to be done, saying the terms of the lease had been breached.
It wrote to the department again in May 2020 saying the site was in no condition to provide any sort of facility for tourism, waste was accumulating, coastal erosion was occurring, there was no vegetation management, no public amenities, and the mooring was unusable.
Last year, Island caretaker Jack Wojtas told the Cairns Post work was underway and “everything is brand new”.
The Cairns Post sought to visit the site this week and was warned by a caretaker, who wished to remain anonymous, that to do so would be trespassing.
Mr Wu outlaid $5.29m for the grandiose home at 21 Knott Court, Whitfield in 2020.
Representatives of Mr Wu were contacted for comment.
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Originally published as ‘Bye bye Benny’: Calls for Hong Kong tycoon to forfeit neglected Double Island
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