Sheraton Mirage owner and developer David Marriner has responded to his critics who say he walked away from his multi-million Laguna Quays project.

The man credited with revitalising the Melbourne theatre scene has been lambasted over the deterioration of the 500 hectare resort. However, Mr Marriner told The Newsport that he has been the victim of a State Government smear campaign.

He said that he and his investors had put up $26 million to revive the project that he describes as being on its knees before being asked to become involved.

"Let's be blunt about Laguna and get the facts right. First of all it was an initiative between the Japanese and the Labor Government of the day.

"This venture failed and failed badly. My partner being the Construction Building Union Super Fund took a stakeholding in that project with Village Roadshow.

"They got me to review it because they couldn't make it work. It was not possible to make this project work. This is a dud of all duds.

"I gave them a policy paper which I was prepared to back with our own family's money as well."

This paper suggested the building of an international airport at Laguna Quays funded by Mr Marriner's Chinese partner and designed to be a "gateway to China" bringing visitors to the Whitsundays.

Mr Marriner said a condition of the investment was that the Proserpine airport would close on completion of the new airfield.

"The Government embraced that and gave me an agreement, a written agreement, the premier of the day flew to Japan to embrace it with their Japanese partners that still owned part of the Laguna asset," Mr Marriner said.

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"Everybody was excited. We spent $26 million of our money commencing the preliminary construction works at the airfield...only to discover the Government reneged on its agreement, (and) dishonoured every undertaking they ever gave both in writing and publicly."

He said it was likely he would be taking legal action against the Labor Government of the day to recover financial losses.

"They created a situation where the local community felt a great need to own the Proserpine Airport and it was wrong that they sell it to a developer.

"If that was the case they should never have entered into an agreement in the first place, they should never have allowed us to spend $26 million.

"We incurred considerable loss. The community has lost because you go to Airlie Beach today there's 46 empty shops and there's people screaming to get the airport built.

"How could you oppose the ability to have an international airport in a holiday destination? Never has anybody ever heard of that. But they did, and they stuffed it."

Mr Marriner said that Airlie Beach had lost its international brand through the closure and financial strife of a number of resorts naming Club Med, Daydream Island, and the Port of Airlie among others.

"Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays is finished as a destination. Finished," he said.

He now plans to re-establish relationships with the State Government, now under LNP rule, in a bid to seek funding for his Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas development.

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