Call for Broome land release

TOURISM WA subsidiary, Australia’s North West Tourism, has called on the state government to release land for a five-star resort in Broome, potentially on the Education Department’s camp school site. The group’s chairman, Ian Laurance, said in an announcement that he would be writing to Tourism WA CEO Richard Muirhead with the request, following a recent board meeting. One of the group’s proposals is for the department to build a new camp school on an alternative site, making way for a development on the school’s existing site, which would allow the government to have some input over the process. Mr Laurance cited the Mirvac Group development of the former hospital site at South Hedland, consisting of a $100 million hotel, as an example. He said the approach would be a win-win for the Broome community and the tourism industry. “Whilst there have been some fantastic new accommodation developments in Broome in recent times, there is a need for a new five-star, full service, resort hotel,” Mr Laurance said. He said surveys of potential international visitors, who were interested in the proposed Singapore-to-Broome direct flights, showed there was demand for five-star resort accommodation.