STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr THOMPSON (Herbert) (16:30): Townsville has a lot of wonderful things to do, and one of the wonderful things we have in my electorate is Reef HQ. Reef HQ is the largest coral aquarium in the country and has been a learning platform for many, many young people. Sadly, for some time it has been closed.

The former government put money in the budget to do a refurbishment. The new government came in and said, 'No, we're going to do a new rebuild.' But there wasn't any money allocated. Townsville City Council had to choose between other projects.

It was the first time this had ever happened—what to cancel and what to keep. They chose Reef HQ because of its significance and its importance. But now we've heard that the minister is talking about relocating Reef HQ from its original site to somewhere that hasn't been disclosed.

This will be detrimental not only to the city but also to the educational piece that Reef HQ provides to many, many schools and many tourists. Because if you remove Reef HQ from its city centre location and put it somewhere else then you won't get the visitors. Reef HQ is so important.

It's one of those natural wonders. It's an amazing bit of infrastructure, and we must continue to support it for generations to come.