Redland council’s $78k in ferry fees sink Straddie tourist venture

A tourist ferry service from the Brisbane River to North Stradbroke Island has been canned days after it started, with operators claiming council fees capsized the venture.

River to Bay boats at the Manly Harbour waiting to take passengers to Straddie. Picture: Contributed

A fledgling fast ferry service from the Brisbane River to North Stradbroke Island has been canned days after it started, with operators claiming it was sunk by exorbitant fees from a local council.

River to Bay started its fast shuttle services from Hamilton Wharf and Manly on March 1.

But on Sunday, the new service will cease after the operator said Redland City Council had whacked it with $78,000 in annual fees to use an island public jetty.

The fees included $30,484 for the company’s two boats to use a pontoon at One Mile on Straddie along with a one-off licence fee of $2064 for the both boats and $8.50 for every landing, which equated to $8840 a year per boat.

River to Bay operations manager Isla Toomey said the council move was effectively choking island tourism.

Some of the fees and charges for ferries using public pontoons and jetties in Redland. Picture: Contributed

She said her company was notified that its permit fees would be jacked up from $1034 to $78,648, the day before the fast ferry service started.

Since then, Ms Toomey said the company had begged the council to reassess the “exorbitant” fees but had “regrettably” halted services in the meantime.

“We already had a $1034 charter operator annual ferry licence from Redland council which allowed us to land on the island, when we were running special champagne and oyster day events,” she said.

“We announced we were launching the service at the beginning of February and have been running it now for 12 days under the assumption that our valid permit was all that was required – which is what happens in Brisbane, where the permit is free.

“We were shocked when the council officers told us they would be enforcing new permit fees if we continued the service which is why we decided it was unsustainable under the current regulatory and financial constraints.”

Ms Toomey said Redland council’s fees were “anti-tourism” and unlike Brisbane City Council where the ferry operator is not charged any fees for its fleet to use any council public jetty.

Redland City Council said it had been working extensively with the ferry operator but it had an approved schedule of fees that applied to all commercial operators using council-owned or managed jetties for business.

“Council has a responsibility to maintain its jetties in good working order, and fees are required to be applied to help relieve the cost burden on ratepayers,” the council said.

“The council is working with the state government to assist the ferry operator in securing relevant State permits to land their vessels at the jetties on Minjerribah.”

Stradbroke Flyer owner John Groom, who runs ferries to the island from Cleveland’s Toondah Harbour, said all ferry operators in Redland were feeling the pinch from the council.

Straddie Flyer’s John Groom says cheaper landing fees would boost tourism on Straddie. Pictures: Contributed.

Mr Groome, whose successful business has been operating since 1986, said his fees to the council to use the One Mile jetty had risen over a decade from $10,000 to $110,000 and were expected to soar to more than $200,000 in the next four years.

He said skyrocketing council fees were a “kick in the guts” for island tourism operators, already struggling with rises in the cost of living and called for Redland to follow Brisbane council’s lead and not charge for every time a boat stopped at a pontoon.

“The state built and owns the jetties and yet the council is taxing people to use these public facilities,” he said.

“A barge service has subsidised fees and pays about $11,000 to the council when I am paying ten times that for running a passenger ferry to the island.

“These taxes are anti-tourism and are hindering the tourism sector on the island.”

Straddie Chamber of Commerce president Colin Battersby called for the council to simplify the boat and ferry licensing deals and for a level playing field.

“The council needs to make it easier and more affordable for tourist operators to emerge and thrive on the island,” he said.

The new services from Brisbane to Straddie have now ceased.

“The chamber will do whatever it can to assist in getting these fees and charges reduced for the ferry operator but the service route has to be viable in the first place.”

It is not the first time Redland council has faced criticism over its “sky-high” ferry landing fees.

In 2022, the then-Transport minister Mark Bailey called it a “blatant revenue grab” claiming some Redland barge landing fees had jumped from $72,000 to $136,000 in 2022-23 and were expected to rise to $346,000 in 2025.

Mayor Karen Williams said the rises were to save ratepayers from subsidising commercial ferry operators.

Sealink, which operates the barges to Straddie along with water taxis to the four bay islands, was contacted but no comments were provided.