This week saw the cruise industry present the annual figures for how many Australians took holidays on the water last year. It’s a great story, with one in 17 Australians taking a cruise – the highest per capita penetration of any country on earth.
But the good news ends in New South Wales.
Despite being the state with 53 per cent of this burgeoning and lucrative industry, it’s also the state that went backwards by 2 per cent in terms of growth.
Why? Because, despite repeated requests and inquiries, little concrete has been done about Sydney’s inability to take more than one large ship a day.
It’s simple really. Tens of thousands of foreign tourists want to visit and some of the world’s biggest cruise lines want to station modern, technologically-advanced ships in our waters. But almost all overseas passengers want to be assured they will see our beautiful Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
The industry is building more and more new ships – 18 this year and 120 by 2027. Most are too big to go under the bridge to White Bay. Which means we have just one place for them to dock: Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal. It can only take one ship a day.
We could have used Garden Island as an option during the six-month season. A report by former Liberal leader Peter Collins suggested it. But former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ruled that out after the Australian Navy said it was necessary for our defence.
So we are left with the option of ships coming into the harbour to take in the sights, then mooring at Botany Bay, our premier container port.
Easy, right? Already a port. Shouldn’t be too hard to find room for a cruise ship berth. But despite a business case and a Federal Government recommendation this should be a priority infrastructure project, nothing has really happened.
During the recent state election, there was gridlock – Labor leader Michael Daley made it clear Port Botany would never get up if he was elected. Ports minister Melinda Pavey said nothing, despite repeated requests for her views. It was a political hot potato, with resident groups raising the temperature and local newspapers dredging up issues that don’t really exist.
Today, Gladys Berejiklian says she has a new mandate to get the job done.
And we have a new minister in charge of the port of Sydney – Andrew Constance.
We have offered him a platform for his views on this issue. We hope, in coming weeks, to bring those to you.
But in the meantime, NSW and Australia is missing out.
The cruise industry created 17,000, $1.4 billion in wages and $4.8 billion in economic value in 2018.
But growth slumped to 0.9% from over 4% the year before. And that, according to Cruise Lines International Association MD Joel Katz, was down to New South Wales.
Queensland is building a new terminal at Luggage Point. There is work in Cairns, Eden and Broome.
But, as Mr Katz reported, “a lack of berthing capacity in Sydney has hampered cruise lines’ efforts to expand their operations in local waters.”
Australia’s growth pales beside the overall rise of almost 7% globally.
We understand there are procedures to go through before Molineaux Point or Yarra Bay can be serious contenders: the environmental impact, transport, financing, fishing, heritage, indigenous culture, noise, social impacts and a community consultation process. It’s a lot of work. But it has to start now.
Ms Berejiklian’s election slogan was “Let’s get it done, NSW!” Now she is back in Macquarie Street, approving the start of work on next stage of a Port Botany development would seem a simple next step.
So let’s get it done, Gladys! A lot of jobs and tourist dollars are hanging on the result.
Related Posts
-
Cruise is facing a challenge period, with many ports around the world seeing both people-driven protest and government-imposed cruise caps.
-
Alaska is about to begin a bumper cruise season, however, future seasons aren't looking quite as promising. From 2026, the major Alaskan port of Juneau will begin to place caps…
-
Luxury line Crystal has just opened bookings for its 2026 itineraries that promise a whole new world of unparalleled adventures for travellers.
-
Crown Princess wore the red and white colours of the Sydney Swans today It was all in aid of the first official AFL cruise There were a host of activities…
I work as a travel agent selling cruises. Sydney and NSW does need more berthing for cruise ships. But NOT in Botany Bay!
No tourist wants to arrive into Botany Bay with its containers, Airport and cemetery. They want to arrive and depart from our beautiful Sydney Harbor with views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
And let’s not forget how hard it is to get into the city from Botany already without the extra traffic from passengers and staff restocking a ship. Passengers do not want to be an hour from the city when the arrive..
this is not a proposal that will work for passengers, cruise companies or locals.
The proposed spots at Yarra Bay are totally unsuitable from an environmental, sociological, heritage, safety and MASSIVE costs points of view!
For the short time that extra dockage is needed just use Garden Island for Pete’s sake!
Also why can’t ships sometimes use Wollongong, Newcastle etc? Why shouldn’t regional NSW have a share of the revenue?!
“progress that destroys the quality of our life is not progress.” – Nancy Hillier OAM
The proposed area is completely inappropriate for a cruise ship terminal having great historic, biological, and aboriginal significance to Sydney. It is a quiet refuge for local families and residents and passengers arriving here would miss out on the magic of sailing into amazing Sydney Harbour with the stunning Opera House and Bridge and fabulous restaurants and attractions all within a few minutes from the established cruise terminal. Instead passengers would be greeted by the rather harsh industrial view of Port Botany. Growth without regard to environmental or community health is equivalent to a cancer, so go build at Garden Island or nowhere at all.
The cruise industry needs to see past the myth of infinite growth. You can’t endlessly expand, and if you can’t persuade the federal government to give you Garden Island, try somewhere who wants a passenger terminal like Newcastle. Yarra Bay is a precious community resource, rich in heritage and environmental values. The traffic problems are insurmountable. It’s the wrong place for a terminal.
Absolutely disgusting! Just because the ex prime minister said no to Garden Island then it becomes necessary to completely destroy a bay with plenty of marine life, a beach used by community for hundreds of years, increase traffic to unmanageable level and spend millions and millions of dollars? How about challenging a one man’s decision that could have everyone involved winning without wasting so much money and destroy a natural environment? Completely selfish and unnecessary!! Garden Island is the perfect spot and must be used. Stay away from Yarra Bay
Ha. Take your cruise ship terminals elsewhere. The author has spent three and a half lines acknowledging the devastating impact these terminals would have at Yarra Bay, brushing it off by stating “it needs to start now.”
No, the devastation to the environment, Indigenous significance of the Bay and the lifestyle of many locals does not need to start now, or ever.
Yarra Bay is not suitable. Here are all our objections to it for you to hhttps://saveyarrabay.com/the-threat-to-yarra-bay/ Thousands of residents, businesses, Councils and stakeholders have united in our opposition to the redevelopment of a much-loved area of Sydney, Yarra Bay, for a cruise terminal. We are joined by the two relevant city councils, our Federal and State Members of Parliament and the La Perouse Aboriginal Land Council, the traditional custodians of the land, in opposing this location for a third cruise terminal.
What the NSW Government has probably not shared with you is that Yarra Bay is a very popular Sydney beach, an area of major heritage significance and a likely expensive option for a cruise terminal. Given its location in direct line to the ocean, and the huge swells that roll into Yarra Bay, the development of a cruise ship terminal here would require massive investment in large protective breakwaters, and other engineering solutions to counteract the effects of dredging on local beaches. This is in addition to the building of wharves large enough to berth the new class of ships; reclaiming land to allow for the buildings to process passengers and necessary carparks; and a new road through a heritage-listed area to carry the busloads of passengers out of the area; and to do the job properly ship-to-shore power so residents in this historically-significant part of Sydney don’t have to endure the smell and noise of constantly running engines. The bill for such a terminal would be over a billion dollars. It simply doesn’t make economic sense when there are other more suitable sites in Sydney and in regional NSW.
Anyone who knows a little about Australian history will explain to you the history of the settlement of Sydney and why the First Fleet moved away from Yarra Bay. Captain Arthur Phillip left Yarra Bay because of its shallow waters and lack of protection from the open sea and made port in Sydney Harbour. The breakwaters that allow for commercial shipping are on the wrong side of Yarra Bay. Cruise ships could not possibly berth here without major re-engineering of Botany Bay.
The terminal would swamp the beach and dredging would have flow-on effects to other pristine beaches in Botany Bay. The Bay is home to hundreds of marine species, including rare and threatened species. Destruction of the marine environment; loss of aquaculture; coastal erosion and impact on wetlands; and loss of seagrasses needed to filter water and to sustain aquaculture in the bay are just a few of the environmental impacts that would result with dredging and building breakwaters in this part of Sydney.
Sydney Harbour is where a solution must be found, where major reengineering does not add to the cost of building a suitable berthing facility. Athol Bay and Rose Bay are naturally protected deep-water bays and would not require reengineering of the scale required in Yarra Bay/Molineux Point.
The community within the south-eastern suburbs of Sydney are very proud of their history and the natural beauty of the local area. We enjoy our beaches and keep them clean and pristine for all to enjoy. Yarra Bay is one of the only remaining areas in Sydney where indigenous people have had continuous connection to the land and sea for thousands of years. Yarra Bay is the site of a famous Aboriginal settlement and the Aboriginal Land Council is strongly opposed to losing control of this land for a cruise terminal. The land is sacred to Australia’s indigenous community and this will become more than a local political battle if they lose access to the Bay for traditional fishing and other cultural practices. Most Sydney-siders are opposed to the redevelopment of the Bay because it is also the location where the First Fleet and other Europeans arrived and had first contact with traditional owners – the area is steeped in history.
Road congestion and poor infrastructure in the area are already affecting the operational efficiency of our busy Port. The NSW Ports Masterplan has projected that truck volumes in the roads surrounding Yarra Bay will increase from 3900 to between 6300 and 6900 trucks per day in the next 20 years. A cruise terminal would add thousands of trucks and buses to the heavily congested (often gridlocked) area. The chaos that would ensue if thousands of passengers and crew were to be transported along Foreshore Road, Botany Road and adjoining major roads would be bad for your passengers, but also devastating for residential communities and our trading port – the lifeblood of our economy. There are no plans to improve on the transport and road infrastructure in this part of Sydney.
You clearly know nothing about Yarra Bay to be pushing it like this. Perhaps a visit to our beautiful beach, with its bushland and heritage is necessary. The aboriginal community that have called this area home for thousands of years would be happy to show you around. They still engage in traditional cultural practices on the Bay – they can show you some of this cultural heritage also.
Please go float your boat somewhere else as Yarra Bay is not for sale for the Foreign Cruise industry, especially when there isn’t a cruise capacity issue in Sydney. The market is already saturated.
Well that’s if you believe the cruise lime claims. Which are in the interest of making things easier for themselves. They would say that.
However the facts speak differently. We already have the greatest large market penetration in the world so of course our growth would top off. The market has reached its peak. It’s not capacity that is the issue but demand.
Further proving that point is that we’ve had more Sydney visits in the past. There is capacity available but the lines have moved elsewhere to expand their market where they say there are opportunities.
Simply, the capacity is currently sufficient for the market. Extra spending now would just be even more infrastructure built before its needed.