Star casino contract ‘tweaked’ in Covid, says Steven Miles

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has conceded the Labor government watered down key conditions for Star Entertainment to open its landmark $3.6bn Queen’s Wharf project in Brisbane.

The new Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has conceded the Labor government watered down key conditions for Star Entertainment to open its landmark $3.6bn Queen’s Wharf project in Brisbane as state Treasury officials continue to negotiate a tax reprieve for the cash-strapped ­casino giant ahead of the election caretaker period.

Sold to taxpayers in 2015 as a “new world city development” that would drive tourism, the original deal between the state government and the Star-led Destination Brisbane Consortium stipulated a new casino licence would be granted once the “integrated ­resort component” of the development was completed.

Queen’s Wharf, which runs along the Brisbane River’s western side, was supposed to open in 2022 with 50 restaurants and bars, five hotels with more than 1100 rooms and a residential precinct with 2000 apartments.

When the precinct finally opened in August, it had just 340 hotel rooms and seven bars and eateries ready for trade.

As The Australian revealed this month, a source with knowledge of the original deal said it required Queen’s Wharf to open its hotels and have tenants for all its retail and restaurant offerings before the casino floor would be allowed to operate.

In exchange, Star was given an expanded casino licence for Queen’s Wharf with a larger gaming floor and an extra 800 poker machines on top of its former Brisbane operation, Treasury casino.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles on Monday. Picture: Richard Walker

Mr Miles this week confirmed changes were made to the contract during the pandemic. “My recollection … is that during Covid when we saw all of those construction and supply chain delays, there was a discussion about a staged opening,” he said.

“My recollection is that there has been the intention to have a staged opening since then, so that would have been 2019.”

Mr Miles, state development minister from November 2020 to December 2023, said changes to the contract predated his time in the portfolio.

In a later statement, State Development Minister Grace Grace said there was “no requirement under the agreement between the state and Destination Brisbane Consortium that all accommodation, dining and retail spaces be tenanted before the gaming floor could operate”.

However, a Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcement from Star’s joint venture partner, Far East Consortium, detailing the agreement signed with the state on November 16, 2015, confirms the casino ­licence would be issued only “upon completion of the integrated ­resort component”, which would be an “iconic world-class” precinct with 1100 premium hotel rooms and high-end food and commercial outlets.

Star, which owns casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, was suspended from trading on the ASX in August following delays in lodging its annual financial results.

The company is still racing to secure financial support from the Queensland government before the election caretaker period begins on September 30.

It is understood the casino operator is set to be bailed out by lenders with an initial $100m loan to keep its operations afloat and potentially another $100m in the future. Star is expected to reveal its financial results next week and resume trading on September 27.