Pictured above: Concept plan for Reef H Q In Townsville
Herbert MP Phillip Thompson says the Albanese Labor Government has once again treated Townsville with complete disdain, following an answer to a Parliamentary question on Reef HQ’s future.
Phillip Thompson lodged a detailed question in writing in the House of Representatives on 16 May 2024, seeking clarity for the community after no extra money was announced for the aquarium’s redevelopment in the Budget.
“Given the former Government’s allocation of $80 million for the refurbishment of Townsville’s Reef HQ Aquarium, the current Government’s re-scoping of the project to a full knock-down rebuild without allocating any extra funding, and the lack of funding in the budget, how can locals, visitors and staff have any confidence that Reef HQ Aquarium will ever reopen,” the question asked.
“Does the Government intend to shut down the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium for good?”
The non-answer from Labor Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, received yesterday, was just one sentence long.
“The Australian Government continues to work with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on next steps for the Great Barrier Reef Aquarium,” she said.
Phillip Thompson said it was a slap in the face to the Townsville community who are desperate to have their aquarium back.
“The Labor Government has absolutely no regard for Townsville and no regard for the hundreds of thousands of locals and visitors who visited Reef HQ before it closed in 2020,” he said.
“The community was absolutely devastated to hear in May that there was no more funding for Reef HQ in the budget, and it was in danger of never reopening again.
“Multiple petitions, that I’ve tabled in Parliament, have been signed by tens of thousands of residents. That just proves how important this project is. But all the Labor Minister can manage is a measly 23-word answer that says absolutely nothing.
“It’s an absolute kick in the guts, and it just puts extra fire in my belly to fight for this project.
“It’s time for the Minister to stop playing politics and provide the extra funding to see Reef HQ re-open to the public.”
$80M for Reef HQ's refurbishment was committed by the former Coalition Government, the amount requested by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority at the time.
In July 2022, the Albanese Labor Government re-scoped the project into a full knock-down rebuild, without allocating any extra funding. The latest Budget confirms no extra money.
It means the largest coral reef aquarium in the world will remain closed for the foreseeable future – a tourism and education asset that used to attract 110,000 visitors every year.
In May, Senate Estimates hearings confirmed that plans to knock down and rebuild Reef HQ were only made after the election of the Albanese Labor Government.
The confirmation debunked claims by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek that the former Coalition Government’s $80M funding commitment for a refurbishment in July 2021 wasn’t enough, as that was what was requested by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) at the time.
Officials twice advised the information which led to the decision to rescope the project was received in July 2022, two months after the 2022 Federal Election.
Perhaps while Mr Thompson is writing detailed questions to raise in Parliament he could rip one off to his counterpart - the Assistant Minister for Defence, Mr Thistletwaite - about the abandoned Defence houses on the Bremner Point headland overlooking Geoffrey Bay at Arcadia. The local member was active on the subject for a while until he realised that all the Island's community groups - MICDA, MIRRA, MINCA and Arcadia Coastcare - were united in their demand that the Commonwealth should pay for the demolition and removal of the derelict buildings and rehabilitation of the site before the land was handed back to Queensland. At the last meeting between those groups and the Minister's Canberra officials it was agreed that…