Phillip Thompson calls on Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to commit to funding Reef HQ, Townsville

Herbert MP Phillip Thompson has called out the Labor Government’s response to a Parliamentary question in regards to the update of the Reef HQ refurbishment, calling it a ‘kick in the guts’.

Phillip Thompson at the Reef HQ Building on Flinders Street.

Herbert MP Phillip Thompson has called on the Labor Government’s response to a Parliamentary question in regards to the update of the Reef HQ refurbishment, calling it a ‘kick in the guts’.

Mr Thompson said he lodged a question in writing in the House of Representatives on May 16, seeking clarity from Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek after no funding for Reef HQ was allocated in the Budget.

Mr Thompson called on the Government to be transparent and give an answer as to whether the aquarium would reopen, or if the Government intended to ‘shut down Reef HQ for good’.

He said he received a response on Tuesday, which he called a ‘non-answer’, with Tanya Plibersek’s office saying ‘the Australian Government continues to work with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on next steps for the Great Barrier Reef Aquarium’.

Claudia Brumme-Smith, CEO of Townsville Enterprise, Steve Price and Acting Mayor Paul Jacob outside Reef HQ which remains closed. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Calling it a ‘slap in the face’ to Townsville, Mr Thompson said on Wednesday locals were desperate to see the much-loved icon return.

“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.

“That’s not really good enough, that’s not an answer of commitment. That is just a fob-off and the people of Townsville deserve better. If you change a project, you change the scope, you fund it in full.”

Mr Thompson said he believed the Minister was ‘not across’ the issue and the background of the Reef HQ saga.

CANBERRA, Australia – NewsWire Photos – June 24, 2024: Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“The Labor Minister for Environment Tanya Plibersek’s office said that the former federal Coalition government didn’t fund this project enough,” Mr Thompson said.

“That was then asked at Senate Estimates and it was debunked and it was said no, we asked for $80 million, which was delivered and after the election new scoping and changing of the project was done.”

While Minister Plibersek’s office noted she is currently on leave, a spokesperson said the government is “working with the Reef Authority on the next steps,”

Mr Thompson replied saying that ‘unlike the Minister’, he was committed to fighting to see Reef HQ reopen.

“Only the Coalition has continued to fund and support Reef HQ and it’s a shame that the current Environment Minister can’t answer a simple question about the future of Reef HQ.

“Townsville doesn’t want to hear from a nameless spokesperson from the Minister’s office, we want to hear from the Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.”

Originally published as Phillip Thompson calls on Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to commit to funding Reef HQ, Townsville