Malcolm Turnbull’s intervention means cruise terminal for Botany Bay
AN international cruise terminal could be up and running in Botany Bay by 2024 after the intervention of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Southern Courier
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A NEW cruise terminal in Botany Bay could be built and operational by 2024.
Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull has personally ruled out the favoured option for a terminal at Garden Island to leave just two proposals on the table: Molineaux Point and Yarra Bay.
A business case will now be prepared with Peter Collins, who was head of the committee which put forward the shortlist of options, saying Botany Bay could be accepting ships by 2024.
As previously reported by the Southern Courier, his Cruise Industry Reference Group put forward six long-term options: Yarra Bay, Molineaux Point, two options at Garden Island along with two others at unnamed locations. The Courier can now reveal those options were near to the Rose Bay seaplane terminal and at Athol Bay, close to Taronga Zoo.
Mr Collins said both were possible from an engineering perspective but infrastructure was not in place and were ruled out.
This left the two Garden Island proposals, which were the preferred options, and two at Botany, which were presented to the NSW Government.
Following Mr Turnbull’s dismissal of Garden Island the two Botany options are the only two left on the table.
While 2024 is the earliest a new terminal could be built, ships could be arriving into the bay even sooner with the State Government planning to use Hayes Dock in Port Botany as a short-term option while the new terminal is built.
Plans reveal the Molineaux Point and Yarra Bay proposals would have room for two cruise ships to be berthed at any one time. For Yarra Bay a wharf would be built from north to south into the bay capable of having a liner on either side.
Molineaux Point would get a wharf which would project southeast with space for two ships berthed end to end.
With the largest cruise ships now holding upward of 6000 passengers that could mean more than 12,000 in port at the same time.
Mr Collins said he was disappointed Mr Turnbull had dismissed his group’s preferred option of Garden Island with little or no discussion. However, he said he was confident the Botany options would be a success. “There is an acceptance from the cruise companies that a solution must be found so Botany will work.”
‘The fightback starts here’ — how the industry and community reacted
IT’S fair to say there has been a mixed reaction to the announcement that Botany Bay is now in pole position for a new cruise terminal.
Maroubra state Labor MP Michael Daley indicated the fightback is only just beginning.
“The designation of Yarra Bay for a gigantic, concrete cruise ship terminal is a lazy and unacceptable option,” he said.
“I don’t believe that in a city like Sydney or across NSW that the only option we can come up with is the destruction of beautiful Yarra Bay. The Government needs to go back to the drawing board.
“The Liberals have already locked the Malabar Headland away by signing the shooters up to a 50 year lease. Now they want to destroy Yarra Bay and turn it into a gigantic concrete cruise terminal. No thank you.
“This is the last remaining stretch of beach on the northern side of Botany Bay. The rest has already been wiped out by development. I cannot believe that in the 21st century we are seriously talking about concreting a pristine beach. This is an environmental outrage.
“Imagine how Turnbull would react if there was a proposal to put a cruise terminal in Point Piper. He’d be choking on his Bircher muesli.”
Heffron state Labor MP Ron Hoenig echoed his colleague's thoughts, saying it would be a disaster for Botany Bay and a disaster for the cruise industry.
“This proposal involves environmental destruction of the birthplace of modern Australia,” he said.
“Dredging Botany Bay for a cruise ship terminal will cause the beaches in the Bay to collapse and the proposal will cost billions.
“They can’t move freight into Port Botany by road or rail. Moving thousands of cruise ship passengers to the CBD after being greeted by oil refineries and petrochemical companies will be a great welcome to the Land Down Under.
“This decision is bad for Botany Bay, bad for the cruise shipping industry and is completely contrary to the recommendations of the independent Collins Review
“The NSW Liberal Government is creating yet another traffic and transport nightmare in our area. There’s no infrastructure here. It’s time this mob was sent packing.”
However, others have welcomed the news. Among them Patricia Forsythe, the executive director of the Sydney Business Chamber.
“This has finally provided some certainty which can only be a good thing.
“It is clear Garden Island is now out the mix and we can start to focus on what could be the solution for Sydney.”
She warned that if the issue had continued to drag on cruise companies booking stops in Australia would soon look at alternate ports such as Brisbane.
She also played down concerns cruise companies would be put off by arriving in the industrial heart of the city.
“This is not just a Sydney issue. Cruise ships around the globe sail into working harbours and industrial ports, that is the reality with the growth of cruising so Sydney is not on its own with that problem.”
She also said Botany and the surrounding suburbs would enjoy the knock-on benefits of having a terminal on their doorstep.
She pointed to the success enjoyed by businesses in Balmain as a result of White Bay.
“Businesses around there have noticed the influx of people in the cafes and shops.”
The cruise industry has also been making positive noises over the last couple of days, with Cruise Lines International Association Australasia stating it will work with the NSW Government on its plans for Botany Bay.
The group’s chairman Sture Myrmell, is also president of Carnival Australia, one of the larger cruise companies.
Marcus Dwyer, executive officer of Bayside Business Enterprise Centre (BEC), has previously welcomed the idea of using Botany Bay provided it meets environmental standards.
“A new cruise terminal would be a fantastic addition to the bay. There is positive flow on for local business and tourism. Yes, It may change what we have, but the old Sydney is gone. We are a global city now, and this means opening up choices and options for visitors and suppliers of all kinds who can supply to this market. Let’s get creative on how rather than saying not in my backyard.”