CELEBRITY LANDSCAPER Gets The Gig
Innovative luxury property developer, Chiodo, has announced the appointment of Jamie Durie OAM and his team at Durie Design, to create the hotel architectural concept and landscape architecture for its new $300 million luxury resort, Fairmont Port Douglas.
Australia’s first Fairmont, the Fairmont Port Douglas, is set to deliver a new level of luxury and sophistication to the glamorous resort town. Durie’s team of 17 at Durie Design have spent the last year creating and developing the concept architecture phase and the surrounding landscape architecture for the hotel, including the lush rooftop garden, resort pools and wedding area.
NewsCorp media reports that Construction of the 253- room resort will begin before April this year.
QUICKSILVER Cuts Workforce
Pioneering reef tourism operator, Quicksilver, currently employs 450 people but has announced cuts to their workforce as a result of the looming end of JobKeeper, the continuing absence of international visitors who account for 70 per cent of its revenue and the looming end of the Jobkeeper wage subsidy.
MORE ‘CELEBRITY’ Comes To Town
KISS FM presenter, Kyle Sandilands, and his new girlfriend Tegan Kynaston have bought a 25 hectare tropical retreat in Mowbray and are in town shopping up a storm to furnish their new digs.
OCEAN SCHOOL Proposed for Cairns Esplanade
Parley For the Oceans has applied to Cairns Council for a 12 month trial to rent property at the northern end of the Esplanade for an open air education hub. The $250,000 project would be the third Ocean School for the conservation group, with similar projects in Hawaii and South Africa.
The space would be occupied by modular, transportable containers.
Parley for the Oceans held a community awareness day about the project at the Esplanade yesterday. They will be holding a Wonga Beach Clean Up on Friday 19 February.
UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND For Local Wild-Caught Seafood
Local fishing businesses continue to experience a boom in demand after a rocky year of lockdowns, freight issues, and labour shortages. Sales figures from the Seafood Industry of Australia suggest December 2020 saw a 30 per cent rise on 2019 results,
Local fishing businesses report that prices are high, and demand from buyers remains stronger than expected. The decline in import capacity has had a positive impact upon the local industry, with many wholesalers turning to the more readily accessible local product instead.
Typically around 70 per cent of Australia’s seafood is imported.
