Yarrabah jetty: Ferry operator contract not guaranteed despite $1m Dindarr grant

A classic case of intergovernmental bumbling is playing out in Yarrabah with a million-dollar grant going to a would-be ferry operator that may not even get the contract.

IN A a classic case of bumbling intergovernmental communication, the Federal Government gave a $1m grant to Dindarr Pty Ltd in 2018 to buy ferries to run between Cairns and Yarrabah once the new jetty was built.

The grant was made before the jetty plan was complete, and the company later came out and said its ferries would be rendered useless at low tide due to the design.

Jetty construction also came years after the ferry proponent had anticipated, and in any case, the State Government was not ready to hand over the contract without a tendering process.

Dindarr director Les Murgha (right) and Bobby Sands, the elderly skipper of the original ferry at Yarrabah. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN

“I think it’s an important part of the process to look at who the operator will be,” Mulgrave MP Curtis Pitt said.

“The fact is there are existing operators like Reef Magic Cruises who have been engaging with that community already, and have provided training and skilling opportunities on their vessels – as well as working to support local educational outcomes.

Former regional development minister John McVeigh and Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch announce funding winners under the Regional Jobs and Investment Package in 2018. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN

“Clearly there needs to be a very transparent process as to who becomes the primary operator for any Yarrabah water-based transport.”

Follow @chriscalcino

Originally published as Yarrabah jetty: Ferry operator contract not guaranteed despite $1m Dindarr grant