Reef HQ is up to five years away from opening with planning for demolition not even having begun, Senate Estimates has revealed today.
When pressed by the Coalition to provide a timeline of Reef HQ's completion at a special spillover hearing with the Great Barrier Reef Park Authority, a Federal agency representative could only offer, "I would hope within the next four to five years."
When asked about a timeline for demolition, it became clear that its planning hadn't even begun, with a tender process yet to occur, or potential contractors to even begin to propose options.
The agency said it could only estimate that the knock-down was expected to begin "within the next eighteen months or so".
It was further revealed that the project had so far expended $21M on a range of activities including repairs to the old Reef HQ building, as well as business strategies and customer research, but no plans were in sight for the actual demolition.
Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said the extent of the delays were nothing short of a disgrace, and a further example of Labor’s inability to manage the project.
"This will be absolutely devastating news for the community, and means one of our city’s most iconic attractions will have been shut for nearly a decade,” he said.
“That’s almost a whole generation of kids who’ll miss out on one of the best experiences of growing up in Townsville.
"At this point we're looking at another half-decade before those families can even think about enjoying Reef HQ again, and demolition won't even begin for up to another 18 months.
"How has the Labor federal government spent $21M without even moving ahead with the knock-down or laying a brick?
"Worse, this comes after the Labor government forced Townsville to reallocate funding for a Concert Hall towards a project that we have now discovered has no clear timeline."
The former Coalition Government had previously delivered $80M for Reef HQ's refurbishment. Following the election, the Labor government rescoped the project to a full knock-down rebuild at a cost of an extra $100M.
It has been shuttered since February 2021.
The budget blowout was funded by a reallocation of $100M away from a Concert Hall for Townsville.
"First, Labor defunded our Concert Hall project, and now our city has been told it won’t be getting Reef HQ anytime soon,” Mr Thompson said.
“We now know Reef HQ won’t be open for 5 years. Townsville deserves both the Reef HQ and a Concert Hall.
“It's clear that Labor's indecision and wasteful spending are holding Townsville back."