Headed by Labor MP Shane King the committee investigated the island resorts, many of which have been abandoned.

“With specific reference to Double Island, the Department of Resources (should) publicly report by June 30 its findings in respect of the audit of the lessee’s compliance with conditions and proceed to take immediate action to cancel the lease if non-compliance continues.

Double Island, in north Queensland, has been abandoned for years after a Hong Kong businessman spent $8 million in 2012 to buy the 99-year lease.

There have already been warnings from the Government that it would rescind the lease.

But several other islands have also been left to rot in the tropical heat while others have been put on the market.

The committee made 18 recommendations some of which called for legislative reform that would require bonds from head lessees to ensure development went ahead. There was also a recommendation to ensure the Government knew the market value of the leases and that rental contributions were sought from current and future leasees.

“Legislative reforms should be considered to ensure fines – suitably proportionate to the gravity of damage – are applied to tourism leaseholders who do not comply with public health and safety and environmental regulations at any point of their tenure as head lessee,” the report said.

The Lindeman Island Resort remains in limbo after Sunshine Coast businessman Shaun Juniper made plans to buy and renovate it. However, that now appears to also have come to nothing. Its owners, the White Horse Group, have been trying to convince the Queensland Government about its plans for a upmarket resort on the island for more than a decade.

The report said the great Keppell, South Molle and Brampton resorts remained shuttered and abandoned. Dunk Island had also been in and out of owners hands and was the centre of an investment scandal until it was snapped up last year by Annie Cannon-Brookes.

“As a committee we have made 18 recommendations as a result of the evidence that was presented to us during the inquiry. These relate to legislative reforms to enhance the regulatory framework for Great Barrier Reef islands resorts, and specific measures with respect to individual resorts to ensure their optimal operation and/ or re-development,” the report said.

But the committee heard evidence that construction costs on the islands was up to three times that of the mainland and they had difficulty obtaining insurance while energy costs were also high.