‘The Navy is not going anywhere’: Transport Minister Jo Haylen scuttles long-running push for Garden Island cruise terminal

A new cruise terminal at Garden Island has officially been spiked, following a record-breaking year for the industry. The NSW government is now looking at other sites.

The NSW Government has been urged to rethink its opposition to using Garden Island as a stopgap cruise ship terminal, after Transport Minister Jo Haylen emphatically ruled out further approaches to the Commonwealth about using part of the site for commercial cruises.

Ms Haylen on Thursday scuttled any further discussions of Garden Island harbouring cruise ships near the resident naval base, on the same day the industry celebrated a record year where cruising generated almost $6 billion for the Australian economy – with NSW garnering almost half of that.

“The fact is the former government has spent a lot of time and money considering Garden Island and the Commonwealth has consistently said no. I am not going to waste the time of government or taxpayer dollars pursuing an option that is not going to be realised,” she said.

“We know that Garden Island has been on the table for a long time but the fact is, it is not practical.

“The navy is not going anywhere. And that‘s why I’ve asked the Port Authority of New South Wales to look at other options for expanding what is an incredibly important industry in the state of New South Wales and indeed for Australia.”

The American naval vessel The USS TRIPOLI docked at Garden Island navel base last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

It’s understood analysis already conducted by the Port Authority has found the city harbour’s two sites – the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay and the White Bay terminal which services smaller ships – haven’t reached capacity currently.

The authority is exploring where a third Sydney Harbour terminal could be built, but no decision on potential sites has been made yet.

It comes as Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou warned Sydney risks losing out to Brisbane – where a new passenger terminal opened to ships last year – if it doesn’t plan ahead.

While the industry report into the 2022-2023 cruise season, revealed by The Telegraph Wednesday, showed NSW had the lion’s share of economic output, the state’s share had actually decreased slightly, while Queensland’s had increased.

The report stated Queensland’s share of economic output increased by 10.1 percentage points in 2022–23, while the share for NSW – despite having the highest economic output – had decreased by 14.5 percentage points.

Minister for Transport Jo Haylen during Question Time. Photo by: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

Mr Nicolaou said the drop highlighted that NSW had to be proactive in finding a new site for cruise ships in the iconic Sydney Harbour.

“At the end of the day, if we don’t do something, we’re going to lose all this to Queensland,” he said, adding he would write to federal Ministers urging them to reconsider the use of Garden Island.

“Why people come to Sydney is because they want to come into our beautiful harbour – so we need to think ahead as it’s a growing industry.

“Brisbane are working really hard with their Olympic Games – it’ll be great for Brisbane and Queensland, but it’s not going to be good for us.”

Boom year for NSW cruises

New statistics showing the sector contributed a massive $5.63 billion in total economic output to the nation in its first full year of operation after bouncing back from Covid-19.

NSW received the biggest chunk of the financial boost from cruising with a total economic impact of $2.75 billion, or 48.8 per cent of the national share, with the industry providing 8,908 full-time equivalent jobs in the state.

Industry figures say the news could get even better for NSW, with the state government dropping outdated Covid-19 vaccination requirements earlier this year after The Telegraph exposed they were still in place.

It comes following a report on the sector, prepared on behalf of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the Australian Cruise Association (ACA) and shared exclusively with The Daily Telegraph, which captures the massive economic boost cruise tourism brought to the country.

The cruise industry has enjoyed a record-breaking year as it bounces back from Covid-19. Image: John Grainger

The $5.63b windfall is 22.1 per cent higher than the 2018-19 cruise season, the last one unaffected by Covid.

CLIA managing director Joel Katz said the next year could be even better for both NSW and the country, with the first cruise ship of the NSW summer season set to dock at the Overseas Passenger Terminal Thursday morning.

“I think this year is going to be a really exciting year – we’ve got more ships coming to Australia than ever before … we’re expecting this year to be bigger and better than previous years,” he said.

“All health restrictions on board ships now are in line with the rest of society. Obviously cruise lines still have health and safety as a top priority, but we’re now the same as the rest of society.

“NSW is still the key gateway port for Australia – cruise lines love including Sydney in their deployments because it’s so important for international visitors in particular to sail into the city. It’s a real drawcard for cruising in our region.”

The first cruise ship of the summer season will dock Thursday at Sydney. Image: John Grainger

Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou praised the figures, but said NSW had to keep progressing its own industry – particularly after the opening of the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal last year to cruising.

“NSW Premier Chris Minns was right to take swift action to remove remaining restrictions on cruise operations after the issue surfaced at a Business Sydney cruising summit earlier this year,” Mr Nicolaou said.

“However, NSW needs to be alert to the strong competition coming from Queensland to secure more cruise industry activity.”

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said Sydney Harbour was “the jewel in the (city’s) crown”.

“There’s not much that can compare to sailing through the heads into Sydney for the first time. I’m thrilled cruise season has officially launched on our Harbour … with the first ship arriving from the Northern Hemisphere, bringing almost 3,000 passengers and more than 1,200 crew into Sydney,” she said.