Port Binnli's Peter Hooke looks to 2011

20 December 2010

Port Binnli Director Peter Hooke looks to the new year as the opportunity to make progress in delivering Northeast Business Park.

With 2010 spent in the planning court rather than creating a new, vibrant community, he remains hopeful that by this time next year Northeast Business Park, Queensland’s largest marina precinct is becoming a reality.

Mr Hooke, was instrumental acquiring the 769 hectares that makes up the Northeast Business park site, inspired by a vision for the only marina development in the region.

“2010 will always be a lost year, but the legal process will gather momentum and I am hopeful we can be underway by this time next year,” he said.

“The Queensland Coordinator General recommended this project be approved in full…if politicians generally had shown some fortitude we would be well and truly underway and the whole community would be benefiting from the investment,” he said.

Mr Hooke, a former geologist, was part of the team that led the successful development of Brisbane’s Raby Bay Marina and could see attributes in the Caboolture site despite its badly degraded condition.

“I was in a unique position to recognise the Caboolture land parcel as a potential development hotspot due to my professional background, even though it had been disregarded as too much effort to develop,” Mr Hooke said.

“The old pine forest land was littered with millions of tree stumps that weren’t easily removed and the property was perceived to be of little value or use, other than as another pine plantation.”

With more than 20 years experience across a diverse career in geology, business, property and marina development, Peter played an intrinsic role in identifying the site’s potential.

“The decision to purchase the multimillion $ parcel of land paid off quickly after initial investigations demonstrated a marina development was a genuine possibility,” Mr Hooke said.

“We identified a gap in the market to deliver the only marina north of Brisbane and south of Bundaberg with the potential for a marine college and manufacturing facilities operating cohesively.”

Peter is excited by the benefits a premier business park and marina facility will bring to Caboolture and disappointed that Council cannot see the vision beyond the business park.

“Northeast Business Park’s best attribute is the location. I am 100% behind this development that was formed on a vision tempered by previous experience in property development there is so much more to Caboolture and the Moreton Bay region,” he said.