tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post5117516522356502888..comments2023-04-20T04:34:11.624+10:00Comments on CAIRNS HILLBILLY WATCH - DAILY LIFE IN CAIRNS, QLD EXPLAINED BY RATIONAL, THINKING PEOPLE: QUESTIONS BEGIN TO MOUNT UP FOR FUNG FAMILY AND MISLEADING PROMOTION OF THE AQUIS PROJECT IN MAINLAND CHINAUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-15066661118930546042014-01-07T18:32:44.973+10:002014-01-07T18:32:44.973+10:00We all remember Joh, Alison, and his arrogant stoc...We all remember Joh, Alison, and his arrogant stock answer to questions asked by journalists, "Don't you worry about that." I agree with you, the LNP haven't changed. They are still a secretive closed government.Seth at Portnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-81864879414166159452014-01-03T09:16:12.761+10:002014-01-03T09:16:12.761+10:00Well Hillbilly, at least you have sparked up a bit...Well Hillbilly, at least you have sparked up a bit of a debate. I was interested to read the comments here on money laundering. This is the type of discussion the community should be engaging in. We all remember Tony Fung cautioning the community when his plans were first unveiled to "think carefully about the proposal". So when the community starts to do so, the LNP rush in with all sorts of hysterical allegations trying to intimidate and scuttle debate. For those of us who remember the Joh era, it is a case of deja vu. Alison Allowaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-12978057523189416792014-01-02T11:31:44.200+10:002014-01-02T11:31:44.200+10:00In a Seychelles (?) casino, everyone had to lodge ...In a Seychelles (?) casino, everyone had to lodge a $100 deposit at the door, and this was returned on the way out. This is a great idea, meaning that when you leave the casino, you are never flat broke, even if you spend all your cash inside, and will always have some money for a ride, feed and a bed. Maybe we could make the Aquis casino entry deposit $500???Hamish Krintnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-76813070627319206332014-01-02T08:26:19.896+10:002014-01-02T08:26:19.896+10:00Great stuff! This is the sort of information we, ...Great stuff! This is the sort of information we, as a community need. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-69630614140256360072014-01-01T23:23:48.974+10:002014-01-01T23:23:48.974+10:00Thanks for that information Anon 11.37 about the i...Thanks for that information Anon 11.37 about the impact of money laundering. CBD Warrior, can you tell us a bit more about what you saw in Singapore and Macau? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-74424028687477880042014-01-01T11:37:01.291+10:002014-01-01T11:37:01.291+10:00Anon 9.30
Casino will have either negative or no ...Anon 9.30<br /><br />Casino will have either negative or no effect on real estate values. Could be positive for commercial real estate values in the vicinity. The building period could be good short term as many workers move in.<br /><br />Other cities booming from Chinese investment have secondary flow on impact on our market. So for eg someone sells their house in Sydney to Chinese may buy here funded from capital gains.<br /><br />They use Macau for eg to money launder so they can buy in New York or Sydney. They normally will not buy real estate in a place like Cairns so short term see some upward movement from the increased workforce, flow on from booming major cities but if we entrench ourselves in a tourism economy then long term the divide between our real estate values and Sydney will only widen. <br /><br />Diversity is what makes real estate valuable, or prestige, we have neither.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-37621348917973393982014-01-01T11:32:35.186+10:002014-01-01T11:32:35.186+10:00If a Singapore national wants to visit the casino ...If a Singapore national wants to visit the casino in that city, he/she has to pay an entrance fee of SGD100 to do so. Others, upon presentation of a foreign passport, enter for free. Losing a hundred dollars before you even get in is a way of keeping locals out of harm's way. No such considerations here I bet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-31280063675580542112014-01-01T10:52:52.614+10:002014-01-01T10:52:52.614+10:00It's appalling that our "leadership"...It's appalling that our "leadership" at council has not visited Macau and Singapore. I heard Bob Manning specifically promise another businessman in the CBD that council would endeavour to do this - he made this statement at the community luncheon outside the Pier in August. <br /><br />I've been to both Macau and the Singapore Sands project. Their impact on their communities is massive. There is no way our leaders can even formulate the hard questions without having seen these places in action.CBD WARRIORnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-86524241530137693182014-01-01T09:30:41.302+10:002014-01-01T09:30:41.302+10:00Surely if the Aquis casino sees money laundering o...Surely if the Aquis casino sees money laundering operations, then we need to have some discussion about how it will affect our regional economy? Will it force up real estate prices to say Sydney levels? This is deadly serious and there should be wide discussion and debate in the community over whether we want to see this happen here or not. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-12937485095901363532013-12-31T15:46:06.429+10:002013-12-31T15:46:06.429+10:00Years ago while doing my cadetship at the The Dail...Years ago while doing my cadetship at the The Daily Horn, fellow groover Steve Harley said to me "your writing is crap, why not bugger off to the antipodes where the locals will be easily impressed with your psuedo-intellectual vernacular" He was right of couse, and so i found myself living in a tropical bogan paradise where i reigned supreme for decades as the premier raconteur and progressive contributor to the most incredible independent journal in the history of independent journals for that suburb. Alas, it all ended in tears as the evil empire scuttled this publication and all who sailed on her. The subsequent years were a bitter tormented time until the all new One Nation style HBW came along. It's so refreshing to have people discover the value my work again without questioning my choice in headwear. As George Bernard Shaw once said to his dog after it chewed his hat "i'll teach you the meaning of respect" Profound and prophetic words indeed.. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-49056546526045485042013-12-31T12:05:56.834+10:002013-12-31T12:05:56.834+10:00Anon 10:47,
Yes they buy up real estate and is wh...Anon 10:47,<br /><br />Yes they buy up real estate and is why they launder the money. I doubt they would buy much real estate in Cairns but in Sydney and globally etc they already do. No need to send anyone to China to beg for business, when it is a good investment they find you. <br /><br />In Cairns they would invest in agriculture or mining. Even Fung only leases apartment in Cairns.<br /><br />Chinese government will not take it out on other nations because all nations have received Chinese investors and most buy Chinese goods. The risk is if they change policy so that money laundering is either more difficult to do, or not necessary to do. Then we are just another place with a tourism economy, the most hated of all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-72157163221994292412013-12-31T10:47:15.400+10:002013-12-31T10:47:15.400+10:00How will money laundering affect our local economy...How will money laundering affect our local economy? Can anyone say? I mean I know that the Chinese Government won't be impressed and will probably express their outrage to the Federal Government but what does it mean locally? Will these funds be used to buy up land, property, businesses etc putting them beyond the reach of the ordinary Australian?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-8788355729027818402013-12-31T10:47:11.337+10:002013-12-31T10:47:11.337+10:00How will money laundering affect our local economy...How will money laundering affect our local economy? Can anyone say? I mean I know that the Chinese Government won't be impressed and will probably express their outrage to the Federal Government but what does it mean locally? Will these funds be used to buy up land, property, businesses etc putting them beyond the reach of the ordinary Australian?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-56055392191784119192013-12-31T09:30:11.653+10:002013-12-31T09:30:11.653+10:00You could be right TAS. I suspect that the main pu...You could be right TAS. I suspect that the main purpose of this entire development is the casino and lucrative money laundering activity, now that the authorities are cracking down in Macau. The wealthy need to funnel their money somewhere safer and what better place than in hillbilly country?Seth at Portnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-65857202304816099252013-12-31T09:13:30.314+10:002013-12-31T09:13:30.314+10:00Some thought provoking stuff here Hillbilly. Whew....Some thought provoking stuff here Hillbilly. Whew. It is just hard to know what the hell to believe about Fung. What we do see however is the incompetence of Michael Trout the local member in avoiding his responsibilities in involving his constituents with the biggest development ever planned in their area. I think about Val Schier and what she did to engage the community with the Entertainment Precinct. She took the plans around the suburbs, invited people to come down to the Council Chambers and made herself available to answer peoples questions. I know, because I was one of them and found Val all too willing to answer the questions I had. As I said, what a difference in leadership between Schier and Trout. Seth at Portnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-89016975932117544582013-12-31T08:56:25.508+10:002013-12-31T08:56:25.508+10:00The amazing thing about all this, is that nobody s...The amazing thing about all this, is that nobody see's it for what it is - and it's right there staring them in the face: just a bold-faced manipulative roll-of-the-dice by Fung to put together a deal where he risks nothing and we lose everything. The gullible of Cairns are the easiest to suck in, the cargo-cult mentality here has long been the evangelism of the stupid and greedy.<br />The biggest obstacle is getting HK and Chinese investors on-board. There's a lot of speculative capital washing around, but they didn't get as rich as they are by being stupid and this is as stupid and risky a proposal if ever there was one.<br />If it ever gets up (unlikely), it will be in stages. Stage one will be the casino (compliant LNP government will usher through the licence), and that is where it will stop. And that has always been the Fung plan full-stop.<br />And to those who were not here in the early nineties: the 'evangelists' of this town were falling over themselves to buy Reef casino shares at one dollar each. Within months of operation, they were worth 4 cents. Investments such as this are really just a tax on people who can't calculate probabilities and who can't smell a rat. There's a lot around in Cairns apparently.TASnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-54973851081252601292013-12-31T08:25:05.244+10:002013-12-31T08:25:05.244+10:00Some excellent research here HBW. Rumours keep on ...Some excellent research here HBW. Rumours keep on persisting that the Newman Government are fast tracking this huge development. It is hard to know what to believe as the LNP are not exactly transparent, are they? Lots of anxiety out in Yorkeys Knob with people saying they can't get in touch with their CRC Councillor and Michael Trout doesn't want to talk to them. Very unsettling indeed.Deedeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-12840002845570550712013-12-30T20:19:03.120+10:002013-12-30T20:19:03.120+10:00LOL, it's Freebody writ large (dream on Paul, ...LOL, it's Freebody writ large (dream on Paul, that you should be THIS good). <br />Ripping off Cairns with it's dumb leadership clique is like taking candy from a kid. And all egged on by the idiots at The Cairns Post (though shouldn't blame Mackenzie because everyone's stopped listening to him).<br />Not only have this lot lost us one of the best deals in decades with the CEP debacle, they are now being reeled in by a shonky 'deal-maker'.<br />Is this corruption or sheer bloody naive stupidity? It must be the latter, they are too stupid for the former.<br />If it wasn't so serious, it'd be funny. It could even be a movie.TASnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-76983233931814024832013-12-30T19:45:13.171+10:002013-12-30T19:45:13.171+10:00
The media are worthless. I saw part of a intervie...<br />The media are worthless. I saw part of a interview with a war reporter last night. She related a story of when she asked a colleague what Afghanistan was like as she had just returned. She replied she had no idea what Afghanistan was like. All she did was stand at Kabul airport with the mountains in the background, and read a report faxed in from New York.!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-74019306669443327942013-12-30T19:40:27.032+10:002013-12-30T19:40:27.032+10:00
It will not be finished for 5 or 6 years, by the...<br /><br />It will not be finished for 5 or 6 years, by then there will be too many casinos. Doubt it will happen. Fung himself said the timing was crucial. Really risky, better ways or better places to invest money.J.Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14269768954980730995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-24322156311682340912013-12-30T18:45:16.618+10:002013-12-30T18:45:16.618+10:00Agreed Tony Hillier. The leakage coming from the J...Agreed Tony Hillier. The leakage coming from the Japanese nuclear disaster has been kept from us, for example. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-87338367986024808682013-12-30T17:18:26.239+10:002013-12-30T17:18:26.239+10:00What passes for news in the not-so-brave new moder...What passes for news in the not-so-brave new modern meedya world would make my old Fleet Street editors and colleagues churn in their urns. Quite often, items in the nightly bulletins relate to product placement or are not so cleverly concealed ads for upcoming channel presentations. Shameless spruiking, PR prattle, celebrity slobbering and undiluted propaganda passes for journalism.<br /><br />They might be easier on the eye than the ruddy-faced old news hounds of yore, but the 20-something kewpie dolls that dominate our screens these days certainly don't exercise their brains. They wouldn't know a news story if, to borrow a line from the late great Frank Zappa, it jumped up and bit 'em on the bum!Tony Hillierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811119917896735831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3182703408922632531.post-36343726189439569842013-12-30T15:42:39.905+10:002013-12-30T15:42:39.905+10:00We live by Media Manipulation, they don't tell...We live by Media Manipulation, they don't tell us lot's of things,except about the Kardashians or some other crap, and why is this TPP agreement or the Volcanoes(10) erupting world-wide not being covered by main stream Media ... all very secretive.This is exactly why I don't read the paper or watch the Filtered hand picked propaganda (news) on TV. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com