[Brad Lockyer]

A Hong Kong-based businessman, and now former owner of Far North Queensland’s Double Island, has hand the land stripped from him by the state’s courts for failing to develop the site and leaving it in disrepair.

QLD resources minister Scott Stewart said the government had been trying for years to force entrepreneur Benny Wu to develop the formerly five-star resort that sits on the island, with no success.

Eventually, the matter moved to the Land Court, and after a deadline for Mr Wu to lodge an appeal passed, the court ruled that possession of the small island off the coast of Cairns would be handed back to the Queensland government.

It raises some interesting questions around prime real estate being snapped up and then promptly ignored. Are there any other sites around Australia you think should move back into government hands?

[David Ryder]

Was it freehold land or a lease. If it was a lease it would have had conditions attached which clearly were not being met.
I think Double Island is mostly National Park and a conservation area so all land in such sensitive areas should only ever be leasehold with strict conditions.
Nearby Dunk Island has been in a similar situation for at least a decade with a collapsed resort which is now a derelict eyesore.

[Author]

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