It has ordered a search for alternative ways to boost cruise-ship berthing capacity in Sydney after on Friday ditching under the previous state government for a $600 million-plus terminal at Yarra Bay,near the Port Botany container wharves.
Garden Island in Sydney Harbour has long been touted as the best location for a cruise terminal. Louise Kennerley
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said Yarra Bay was clearly not the right place to build a cruise terminal and the government would now consider other options.
“This community has fought long and hard to make sure that we look after this precious piece of Sydney,” she said. “The government is taking advice about how to deal with the additional cruise industry requirements within Sydney.”
She sidestepped questions about whether the decision put Garden Island back on the table as a site,saying the government “will look at other options”.
In welcoming the decision,former NSW Liberal leader Peter Collins said a shared facility with the navy on the western side of Garden Island “is and always will be” the best site to berth super cruise liners when Circular Quay was full.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen,left,campaigner Maria Poulos and Attorney-General Michael Daley at Yarra Bay on Friday.Louise Kennerley
“It is not a case of removing the navy from Garden Island. It is just a shared facility for likely a dozen times a year when one of those super ships comes in,” said Collins,who led a reference group in 2017 that recommended the navy and cruise ships share Garden Island.
“[The latest decision] opens up the whole question of a cruise ship terminal again,and it goes back to the obvious solution of a shared facility.”
Collins,a navy reserve captain,described a decision in 2017 by then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to rule out Garden Island on national security grounds as a “kneejerk reaction”.
A Defence spokesperson said shared use of the Garden Island defence precinct by cruise ships was incompatible with its operational requirements. “[It is a] strategic Defence establishment that directly supports fleet operations of the Royal Australian Navy and Australia’s broader maritime capability by providing essential maintenance and repair facilities,” the spokesperson said.
Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said a new berth for cruise ships was needed east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Garden Island remained the obvious option.
The cruise-ship industry is bouncing back from a slump during the pandemic.Steven Siewert
“Cruising is a vital contributor to the city’s tourism economy and the solution to provide for its future growth has come back full circle to the shared use of Garden Island with the navy,” he said.
Large cruise ships are often too tall to sail under the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the White Bay terminal at Rozelle,putting pressure on the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay.
About 50 international cruise ships are scheduled to visit Sydney next summer,which is a level similar to pre-pandemic levels. Some of those ships will base themselves in Sydney and many will make multiple visits.
Asked whether the navy would one day allow cruise ships at Garden Island,federal Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite,who is the federal Labor MP for Kingsford Smith,said the Commonwealth was willing to work with the state government on options.
“That’s up to[the NSW government] to determine where they think it would be appropriate for a cruise terminal,” he said.
NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley,whose electorate of Maroubra covers Yarra Bay,said the area was “never a viable option” as a cruise terminal. “The one option that never stacked up was Yarra Bay. We promised to kill it – now it’s dead,” he said.
Hayes Dock at Port Botany,which handles container ships,has previously been touted as a potential.
However,Port Botany’s long-term leaseholder,NSW Ports,said the now scuttled plans for Yarra Bay had had the potential to impact on its operations and capacity to grow,and a cruise terminal at “any other location at or near the port would have a similar impact”.
Cruise Lines International Association,the peak industry body,said the lack of a viable additional cruise berth in Sydney jeopardised the city’s standing as a world-class gateway for cruise ships,and it expressed disappointment that the latest announcement was made “without indicating an alternative solution”.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights..