Mark Salter's plan for an artificial reef for scuba divers on the Gold Coast has received a welcome boost after Defence Minister Joel Fitz-gibbon indicated a warshhip
suitable for the job could be decommissioned from the Royal Australian Navy by 2012.
Mr Mark Salter, has been campaigning for years for an artifical reef as a tourist attraction and has offered $500,000.
An email from Mr Fitzgibbon says under the Defence Capability Plan 2006-2016, heavy landing ship HMAS Tobruk might be replaced by 2012.
Mr Salter is now planning a campaign to snare the 126m vessel.
HMAS Tobruk, which entered service in 1981, weighs more than 5000 tonnes and was the navey's first purpose-built amphibious vessel.
A dive site from the Navey warship could generate $60 million annually and attract a new breed of tourist on the Gold Coast.
Gold Coast Tourism has backed Queensland Scuba Diving Company owner Mark salter's push to secure the heavt landing ship as a dive site off Surfers Paradise once it is decommissioned in 2012.
A good dive site on the Gold Coast would attract at least 10,000 divers
a year. This is based on a similar recent sinking of a ship (HMAS Brisbane) off the Sunshine Coast in 2005, which is predicted to bring in that number of tourists annually and generate about 20 million a year.
The Gold Coast is one of Australia's most popular tourist destinations with millions of visitors from all around the world comming here every year. Cairns has the Great Barrier Reef, the Sunshine Coast now has the HMAS Brisbane and the Gold Coast needs the HMAS Torbuk.
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