Home owners fear they are being left in the dark as a $140 million cable-car project is fast-tracked for one of Queensland’s most desirable locations.
The proposed Whitsunday Skyway will feature 1.8 kilometres of cableway, connecting tourists from a base at Airlie Beach to a mid-station and summit area in the Conway National Park.
A second stage will involve the addition of mountain bike trails.
Developers say the cable car project will bring in an extra 250,000 visitors to the region each year.
The Queensland government declared it a “prescribed project” on Monday, meaning any approvals could be overseen by the office of the coordinator-general.
Whitsunday Climate Council president Tony Fontes said he feared the project could now be “pushed through” assessments, shortening environmental investigations.
Tony Fontes says no development should be happening in the Conway National Park. (Supplied)
“This project has been cloaked in secrecy from the beginning,” he said.
“National parks are there for a reason; it’s to protect the environment in its pristine condition,” he said.
The Whitsunday Skyway is still under environmental assessment. (Supplied: Australian Adventure Tourism Group)
Restricted communication
The Australian Adventure Tourism Group (AATG) and Queensland government are bypassing the need for a competitive tender process, instead using an “exclusive transaction process”.
The group is required to notify the public as it progresses the plan, though some home owners want more consultation.
AATG executive chair Elizabeth Hackett said the project would still receive a high level of scrutiny.
Elizabeth Hackett says the project’s environmental and native titles approvals are at an “advanced stage”. (Supplied: Whitsunday Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
“There are some really fairly firm restrictions about [communications] while you’re under one of those processes,” Ms Hackett said.
She said it had been an expensive and thorough development period, spanning nine years.
“We are working with native title and environmental approvals, and we are very advanced in all those stages,” she said.
Ms Hackett said private investment had been secured, while $5 million had come from the state government.
The Whitsunday Skyway includes plans for a multi-storey station at the summit of Conway National Park. (Supplied: Australian Adventure Tourism Group)
Traffic woes
Bill Kemp lives in Airlie Beach and said he supported new tourism development if it was in the right place.
The proposed Skyway would have a base station built off Waterson Way on an unsealed car park, south of the town’s main street.
Mr Kemp said it would heap stress on an already-congested area.
“I think the traffic would be the biggest concern,” he said.
The gondola system is planned to connect to Airlie Beach. (ABC Tropical North: Melissa Maddison)
About 15 hectares of land would be impacted by the construction of the cableway, according to documents submitted for federal approval.
“That would be devastating for the whole of Airlie Creek, not just for me, but the whole town, the whole community,” Mr Kemp said.
Tourism transformation
Close to one in three people in the Whitsunday region work in the tourism sector.
Tourism Whitsundays chief Tim Booth said the development was an “absolute game changer”.
Mr Booth said he was eager to see how the project would increase visitors and spending on the mainland during the quieter off-season over summer.
“Having a world-class mainland product is going to change the volume of visitors that we get through the region and give us a year-round mainland tourism operation,” he said.
“This will give a very unique experience in the Whitsundays that we currently don’t have.”
