Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to recognise all of the Australians who have served on the HMAS Tobruk, which was commissioned back in 1981. Obviously based on the Round Table class of the Royal Navy, it was purchased at that time for around $59 million. Now, of course, we are looking at decommissioning this wonderful vessel, and I would strongly recommend that that occurs in the Moreton Bay region off the coast of Brisbane. This is the hub to Asia. Brisbane airport is the hub for every major city in Australia. If it comes down to a return on investment for the significant cost of decommissioning, then it needs to be somewhere near a large capital city.

I would strongly urge the Minister for Defence and the state of Queensland to contemplate sinking the HMAS Tobruk close to Brisbane, just 30 minutes from an international airport and the potential for thousands of people every year—not just Australians but tourists from all over the world—to have a world-class facility in crystal clear waters. There is low current and high visibility. There is no better place for the HMAS Tobruk than off the coast of North Stradbroke Island in the appropriate location. We have seen how HMAS Brisbane, back in 2004-05, transformed tourism and boosted diving. We have the support of Diving Queensland, and everyone knows that there is no better place to dive in this great nation than Queensland.

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