Stewart McArthur (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to acknowledge the contribution of the Minister for Defence, the Hon. Brendan Nelson, in making the announcement on behalf of the government that HMAS Canberra would be sunk off the coast of the Bellarine Peninsula and become a dive wreck. The achievment of this wreck is great for the people of Corangamite. The Victorian Artificial Reef Society came to visit me some six months ago and put the proposition that HMAS Canberra should be selected to become a dive wreck ship. I was unfamiliar with the background of the dive society, but they impressed me with their genuine commitment to the sport of diving and in particular to diving at wrecks. So following my lobbying of the minister on the possibility of HMAS Canberra coming to Victoria or going to New South Wales, yesterday the minister made the announcement that it was coming to Corangamite. The member for Lowe is a very good supporter of Corangamite, and I am pleased. He knows that HMAS Canberra is coming to Victoria and not to New South Wales. On behalf of the people of Corangamite, I am delighted with this decision.

The Howard government and the minister will contribute $2.8 million towards preparing HMAS Canberra for scuttling. It has to be environmentally acceptable to the people of Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads. By way of background, HMAS Canberra has sailed 800,000 miles in serving Australia in the Persian Gulf; it has been in the Southern Ocean, at the Solomon Islands, east of Africa and south of Russia. The ship is 138 metres long and, when it was commissioned, it displaced 4,100 tonnes and had a crew of 210. So in its own right, it is a historical vessel. I think the people of Corangamite will be delighted that a vessel with an Australian background will be there for the divers.

The interesting thing is that the sport of the Artificial Reef Society attracts a large number of divers from around the world. Some estimates that have been given to me suggest that 150,000 divers would participate in diving and inspecting this wreck on the ocean floor. I am not familiar with all that; I am familiar with the diving that is done along the Great Ocean Road, at the Lockhart Gorge—Mr Speaker, you would be aware of that—where divers have looked at a wreck and have taken some valuable artefacts from a particular ship.

The CEO of Geelong Otway Tourism, Mr Roger Grant, has been lobbying me in support of this proposition. The Victorian government, as I understand it, have been cooperative. I had discussions with the Chairman of the Victorian Artificial Reef Society this morning and they indicated that the exact location is going to be agreed next week—where it is compatible to the sea lanes, compatible to access by divers and compatible to the environment.

It is a great triumph that the government has seen fit to allow HMAS Canberra to be scuttled off Ocean Grove. It will provide a tourist opportunity for international divers. I was surprised that so many people would come just to participate in inspecting this wreck. I understand that there are a couple of older submarines in the area as well so it could become a focus of dive wrecks around the world. People could actually come to Corangamite—member for Lowe, you ought to note that: they like coming to Corangamite, compared to Lowe—and inspect these wrecks. That will improve the tourism potential and it will give us another string in our bow before people go down the Great Ocean Road, which is partly represented by the Speaker but more fully represented by the member for Corangamite. We now have another competing icon at the Great Ocean Road for tourists who come to Corangamite and the Bellarine Peninsula. I commend the minister, thank the government, and look forward to participating in the actual scuttling and sinking of HMAS Canberra at Ocean Grove. (Time expired)