The Federal Government’s
allocation of limited berthing
rights at Garden Island for
cruise lines in 2012/13 & 2013/
14 will reflect negatively on
Sydney Harbour’s cruise ship
handling ability, NSW Tourism
Minister George Souris has
predicted.
IN July, it was revealed by Cruise Weekly the
Australian Navy base at Woolloomooloo would
be used by superliners Radiance of the Seas
and Celebrity Millennium, along with Queen
Mary 2 over the next two seasons, due to a
shortage of available docking spaces in the
NSW capital.
“We’re disappointed we only got six berths
out of the Navy.
“We were hoping for more than that,” Souris
told Cruise Weekly.
“The figure is so low it’s almost
not an announcement,” he added.
“It’s very disappointing, so I fear that we are
going to see some big oceanliners moored in
the water and passengers ferried by punt.”
Souris said the floating pontoon in the
middle of Sydney Harbour alternative, was
“not a good solution – it’s not what ‘A’ grade
customers have paid for.”
He told CW that cruise lines promoting
Sydney now have to rely on selling the Opera
House and Harbour views of the city.
“We’ve got to get past that, the experience
has to be good too.”
He referred to talks with the Navy as an
“incomplete chapter” but championed Federal
Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson for his
efforts at pushing the case for more Garden
Island berths.
“He [Ferguson] did very well for us, but the
end result was unfavourable,” Souris said.
The NSW Minister added it was key not to
part with the Navy, with its provisioning bigger
than that of the cruise line industry.
“We’re not chasing them out,” he added.
MEANWHILE, Souris has weighed in on the
debate over the Sydney port price hike which
will see cruise lines charged a $20 per person
levy from 01 Jul next year, rather than the
current $250 per hour fee.
The Minister said he appreciates Sydney
needs additional cruise facilities for the
burgeoning industry, “to the extent that if this
fee raises money to enable us to do the
infrastructure, then I’m more than OK with it.”
In his personal view, Souris said:
“Cruise passengers want to come to Sydney
Harbour – that’s the main ticket item.
“In the grand scheme of things it won’t make
much of an impact on a passenger’s decision
to go or not go on a cruise,” he concluded.
Sydney is not without its competition, the
Minister added, acknowledging the recent
Queensland government proposal to build a
$500 million cruise facility on the Gold Coast
(CW 25 Sep), admitting he was baffled where
cash would come from to fund the project.
