Yarra Bay: Fresh call for cruise terminal plans to be ‘buried’

Despite the pandemic’s impact on the cruise industry, the NSW Government has said there’s no change to its position on the controversial third Sydney terminal.

The Covid pandemic has not altered the NSW Government’s position on the planned controversial cruise terminal in Yarra Bay, it can be revealed.

The cruise industry came to a grinding halt last year when the world went into lockdown.

The Berejiklian government said back in April 2020 the plans would be “on hold” for 18 months due to Covid.

Despite the cruise industry suffering heavily due to the pandemic with demand plummeting, a Transport for NSW spokesman said this week that nothing had changed.

“Due to Covid-19, plans to develop a cruise terminal at Yarra Bay are currently on hold,” the spokesman said.

“On 12 April 2020 the NSW Government announced that the detailed business case (for the project) would be on hold for up to 18 months and reconsidered once the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on cruise have been determined.”

A cruise ship terminal has been proposed for the quiet bay (pictured) next to Port Botany. Picture: Craig Wilson

But Maroubra state Labor MP Michael Daley said it was time to drop the plans altogether.

“Yarra Bay is an unacceptable option for a cruise terminal in every single way you look at it,” he said.

Maroubra MP Michael Daley. Picture: Richard Dobson

“There is a cemetery very close to Yarra Bay. These plans are best put in a deep hole in the cemetery and buried.”

He predicted there would certainly not be a need for a third cruise ship terminal in Sydney in the short or mid term, due to the pandemic, and even if a case was made again in the future for another cruise terminal in Sydney it “should not and cannot ever be Yarra Bay”.

The proposal has received widespread community backlash since it was first proposed – with Yarra Bay lacking existing infrastructure to support the move while also being located a distance from the city’s major tourist attractions.

A big crowd gathers on Yarra Bay beach in late 2019 to protest the proposed cruise ship terminal. Picture: John Appleyard

The NSW Government announced in July 2018 that it was considering building a cruise terminal at Yarra Bay or nearby Molineaux Point, within Botany Bay, to help cater for the cruise industry.

There is already two cruise terminals in Sydney Harbour but pre Covid they were in high demand during peak season.

Garden Island was the initial choice for a third terminal in Sydney but it was ruled out because of concerns it would interfere with the navy which occupies that space.

Earlier this year, NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes said he had “real concerns” about placing a cruise ship terminal at Yarra Bay.