An American, Democrat-aligned private company with a lease over remote, iconic Lizard Island has kicked Australian game-fishing boats off its beaches and out of the resort.
Cairns-based charter boats which have been using the island, north east of Cooktown as a base for decades are infuriated especially after Delaware North CEO, Jerry Jacobs Jnr has backed the moves by resort manager Mark Leslie.
Prominent Cairns game fisherman and Big Fish Downunder proprietor Dan McCarthy has spoken out on behalf of the many boats frequenting the island during the fishing season.
“Delaware North’s current manager Mark Leslie has decided to kick all the public out of the public bar, permanently,” said Mr McCarthy.
“This includes the Cairns Marlin fleet which has called the Marlin Bar home for 50 years!
“The Marlin Bar is like a sacred site to us.
“The cruising yachties have also been kicked off and even the staff from the Lizard Island research station are banned.”
Cairns News emailed resort manager Mark Leslie two weeks ago and the head office in the US asking why Australians have been banned from the island but have not yet received a reply.
It is notable that Western Australian mining magnate Twiggy Forrest owns the island head lease which he sub-leased to Delaware North.
Considering numerous Americans pay big money to fish for Marlin and other game species the decision to ban tourists seemed a poor management decision.
“I have personally worked with numerous mangers at Lizard island resort for long periods of time over the last 25 years and never have I seen such terrible anti-Australian decisions being made,” Mr McCarthy said
“Since Leslie closed the Marlin Bar several weeks ago, we have had numerous guests, some international guests, some very famous Australians all of whom have been banned from going to visit the iconic bar.”
Delaware North is a privately held company owned entirely by the Jacobs family, and is controlled internally. Jeremy M. Jacobs serves as Chairman and holds the primary voting control through family trusts.
The company donates significant amounts to the Democratic Party across all federal candidates, giving roughly 75.89% to Democrats and 24.11% to Republicans, with top recipients including Democratic figures like Hakeem Jeffries and Timothy Kennedy.
This political alignment could explain why the company directors appear to not like game fishing.
“The Queensland Government ultimately holds the title and the people of this state own the island.
“I am considering contacting Premier David Crisafulli asking if he will intervene to stop this discrimination against Australians,” Mr McCarthy said.