O.K. just to clarify... I don't actually know what the impact of this might be for Cairns, and I welcome your comments.
I grew up in Cairns, and was witness to the 1980's influx of Japanese investment in Cairns that saw massive tracts of land bought up and turned into golf courses and resorts, only to be left defunct. Trinity Beach, Palm Cove, and Port Douglas were developed to the hilt, and left floundering when Japanese investment and tourism dropped. Port Douglas in particular suffered. As a local, I have seen it go from GLOW to WOE. The development in question is seen by many as reminiscent of a very similar previous development proposal that failed due to it's environmental insensitivity. This one looks to be different, but is none-the-less controversial due to the massive scale of it, particularly to locals who have bought into the area for it's low key village appeal. I know, for example, that the local Kite-surfing community will be fairly devastated. As will many of the locals. Cairns is likely to be targeted in the future by the retiring baby boomers, but what impact would such a development have on the area?? From experience, many locals do now not bother actually visiting the local attractions as they are overwhelmed with tourists. So in terms of the local impact, I just don't know. The recent 'iron-man' triathlon brought the city to a complete stand-still, so I find it hard to imagine the impact of a development of this scale in the sleepy village or Yorkey's Knob. I don't question that Cairns could do with an economic injection, but remain ambivalent regarding the potential impact should the development go ahead. Also, what is the likelihood of it being given the green light, given that it's directly under the flight path. What do you think?