Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the hard things in Townsville is when you send out an RSVP and no-one responds. So Laurence Lancini sent out 600 invitations to the opening of our new urban renewal project City Lane. He got 580 positive responses, so he knew he was onto something special. 'If you build it, they will come.' I think that was Kevin Costner, although we all know that Anthony Albanese will claim it as a line of his own in the future.

This urban renewal includes restaurants, bars, open spaces and al fresco dining. It is like a little lane in Melbourne. They have used the original brickwork. It has been absolutely fantastic. The street art is by Fintan Magee; born in Lismore, raised in Brisbane, only 28-years-old—the world is his canvas. The street art there has been absolutely fantastic. So I say: congratulations to all—including 'Fitz' Jamie Fitzpatrick, who has one of the restaurants there and who has employed my daughter on a casual basis. Good on him. It is one of those trendy places where you drink out of jars and there is all that sort of stuff—

An honourable member: Sounds like home.

It does sound like home. It is a fantastic place. It was freezing cold in Townsville on Friday night: 26 degrees. (Time expired)