Australian committee backs reopening of Christmas Island casino resort

An Australian parliamentary committee studying the development of Northern Queensland has recommended reopening a casino resort on Christmas Island, a tiny Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, 1,600 kilometres north-west of the mainland but 300km from the main Indonesian island of Java, local media said.The casino, which was popular with high rollers from Indonesia, was closed during the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the government blocked an application to re-open the facility in 2004.The Commonwealth parliamentary committee for northern development said the island needed to develop more sustainable industries such as tourism.According to the report, the resort is owned by Soft Star, whose managing director is David Kwon. He says it could be reopened at relatively short notice.