Federal Minister Has Explaining To Do

Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs and
Member for Lingiari Warren Snowdon said today Federal Minister for Territories Jim Lloyd had some explaining to do when he attends the opening of the refurbished Christmas Island Resort.

Mr Snowdon said the resort had not operated as a hotel for many years and wound down operations in the wake of the decision by the Howard Government to prohibit a casino license being issued for the island.

'The owners of the Resort are to be congratulated for their perseverance and for getting to the point where they canagain offer a range of services to visitors,' Mr Snowdon said.

'The irony of the Minister being on the island today and participating in the opening
ceremony will not be lost on the island community.

'This Minister represents a Government that refused to allow the resort to operate a
casino licence, despite the fact that, while previously operating a casino, it very profitably employed around three hundred people.

'That effectively put the boot into the resort's attempt to provide a much needed boost
to the entire Christmas Island economy and led directly to the mothballing of the $80
million resort.

'The Minister must today make clear to Christmas Islanders what he sees as the future for the island community and economy and today he should give the resort owners a guaranteed right and the opportunity to apply for a casino licence.

'Ironically, of course, he's also there communicating his colleague Minister Turnbull's
decision not to approve the phosphate mining on Christmas Island, which will also cost the island jobs.

'As a guest at the otherwise happy occasion of the re-opening of the Resort, that puts him between a rock and a hard place,' Mr Snowdon said. Federal Minister

2007-05-01