Blue Dolphin Holiday Resort mystery

The Blue Dolphin Caravan Park Holiday Resort mystery.

Image from HomeHound

There had been rumours drifting on the wind for some time that current and planned Mitchell family partnered developments on the Clarence Coast were not as sought after as was previously anticipated by investors.

Now comes confirmation that all is not rosy in the garden and the possibility that sell-offs are in the air:

In June 2008 we anticipated that there would be some pick up in the residential market but no further sales have been forthcoming for the Stage 1 development. After a number of reviews with the Mitchell family the decision has been made to place the development of Blue Dolphin on hold, since it is unlikely there will be significant demand for coastal resort style residential property for some time. We have therefore not taken possession of Stage 1 of the site or increased the debt facility as originally envisaged in our June 2008 Investor Update.
There have been a number of parties interested in acquiring Blue Dolphin, however the Responsible Entity (RE) has determined that current offers are not in the interests of unitholders. There are five years left on the Freespirit lease, and there is a substantial concept plan approval on the site. The concept plan approval has another 3.5 years to run before a construction certificate will be needed for a substantial commencement of the first stage, and it is expected that the residential market should pick up by mid 2010.

Selling off individual Blue Dolphin cabins does not appear to indicate confidence in the way ahead, but many Yamba residents will welcome the news that the NSW Government-approved proposed overdevelopment of this waterfront site is delayed.

As for other Mitchell interests - according to Mariner Coastal Land Fund (the unlisted property trust) Yamba Waters has unsuccessfully been offered for sale.

It is also understood that, due to the global financial crisis, Babcock and Brown is seeking a buyer for its percentage of the Angourie Rainforest Resort which it apparently accquired in 2006.

Best political image found on a blog this month

Scott from over at GrodsCorp offering someone's $900 economic stimulus cheque, because "Even ideologically confused rabbles deserve a treasury spokesperson".

The economy has gone to the dogs ...

Yes, things are pretty crook ...

but why do cats have to be so dramatic?

Click on image to enlarge

Source: Unknown

Australia may be down but it's not out

Only two more sleeps until the Federal Budget for 2009-10 is revealed.

With most people expecting the worst and mainstream media and Coalition heavies stoking this expectation, it's worthwhile looking at the nearest thing to an unbiased assessment available.

The Reserve Bank statement on 8 May 2009:

"Indicators of domestic activity, information from the Bank's liaison program and business surveys all suggest that the economy has been contracting since late 2008. A significant contraction in GDP is estimated for the first half of 2009, with the peak-to-trough contraction in GDP a little smaller than during the recession in the early 1990s. The economy is forecast to begin to grow from late 2009, although the recovery is expected to be gradual, partly reflecting the slow recovery in global demand (Table 16). In year-average terms, GDP is forecast to decline by ½ per cent in 2009/10 before growing by 2¼ per cent in 2010/11. Factors that would suggest a less severe recession here than in many other countries include the bigger decline in interest rates to end-borrowers, the healthier state of the financial sector, Australia's export mix (a relatively low share of exports of capital goods and high-value manufactures, where global trade has fallen most), the recent recovery in the Chinese economy, and the exchange rate depreciation in the second half of 2008."

Complete statement can be downloaded here.