Integrated mega-resorts: The clash between public interest and neoliberalism

This paper examines the early development approval stages of a proposed new integrated mega-resort in regional Queensland within the framework of evaluating public interest. In addition to conducting a number of industry and community based focus groups and face-to-face meetings, 1979 feedback forms were collected by the project’s community engagement team through an information shopfront on behalf of a major project proponent. Analysis of the feedback forms indicates that 91% of respondents support the project going ahead, however biases in age/sex distribution exist in the sample. Concerns regarding a number of aspects of the proposed development are also raised, however these are significantly outnumbered by the positive comments, raising questions on how to effectively evaluate the public interest within a neoliberal government paradigm.