Did you know that the proposed cruise terminal at Yarra Bay could be back on the agenda soon, as various parties that opposed the controversial proposal vow to fight it “tooth and nail”?
In a recent media comment, Port Authority of NSW CEO Philip Holiday was quoted as saying that they have revisited the business case on the proposed third terminal in light of Sydney’s looming capacity issues.
He added that Sydney would need more capacity to get the world’s premier ships and that discussions need to get back quickly given the projections.
Steve Odell, the SVP and Managing Director Asia Pacific of Oceania Cruises said that there are 100 new cruise ship bookings until the middle of 2025 with some to be deployed in Sydney. And considering the size of these ships which will not fit under the bridge, he admitted that the issue needs to be on the table again.
The issue on the proposed new cruise terminal surfaced in 2018 when the NSW Cruise Development Plan (CDP), prepared by the group chaired by the Hon. Peter Collins AM QC, was released. It identified the need for a third terminal in Sydney in order to accommodate large cruise ships.
A detailed business case had been compiled and was to be presented to the state government before the pandemic hit and the proposal which was originally planned to start construction this 2023 was put on the back burner.
“Randwick Council has been opposed to this badly thought through proposal since the beginning,” Mayor Dylan Parker said.
“Yarra Bay is not the place for a cruise ship terminal. Visitors don’t come to Sydney to dock next to an international port and fuels terminal. They want to have the iconic experience of entering through Sydney heads and seeing the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
“Building a mega cruise ship terminal at Yarra Bay puts at risk the bay’s sensitive marine life including some rare and threatened coral species as well as risking public access to Yarra Bay Beach.
“The community is strongly against this proposal and I’m calling on the NSW Government to rule it out and dismiss the comments made by the Port Authority,” Mayor Parke said.
“The community has run very strong and successful campaigns against over development of Little Bay Cove and against a proposed incinerator at Matraville. Both were successful.
“The Save the Bay community campaign is stepping up and will strongly oppose any cruise ship terminal.”
Published 28-January-2023