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

Townsville suffered at the hands of Cyclone Yasi this year. Our recovery has been slow but the month of July will mark a full swing: Townsville is now back. It is open, ready for business and very busy. What a month July will be! We have the last night of the Townsville Show tonight. It has been going for 128 years and there is something there for the whole family. To anyone who is going to the Townsville Show tonight, please do not buy tickets for the woodworkers' outdoor setting. I have bought about 300 bucks worth of tickets because I desperately need an outdoor setting.

The Sucrogen Townsville 400 V8s, along with the V8 Gala Ball and V8 Ladies Lunch, is a big thing this weekend. Yes, my mother-in-law will be turning 70 and I will be down at the Burdekin for that, but I will be going on Friday afternoon. It is a big weekend with 160,000 to 180,000 people going through the turnstiles. Following that, we have the Australian Festival of Chamber Music Chefs of the North Dinner and the full-blown Australian Festival of Chamber Music. This is where culture and art come together in North Queensland. Dave Kippin and his team at the Festival of Chamber Music are excellent, and the Chefs of the North Dinner is where we have guest chefs from all around the world coming to Townsville to work with a very good chefs like Wayne from Wayne & Adele's Garden of Eating and the executive chef at the RSL club, who is one of the greatest golf burglars you will ever see. It is a dinner not missed by anybody.

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