| NSW Govt defends new cruise tax

The introduction of a $20 per
passenger fee in Sydney is “fair
and reasonable”, says
State Minister for Roads and
Ports Duncan Gay.
A CONTROVERSIAL new head tax for cruise
passengers visiting Sydney, set to be
introduced next year and increased annually
until 2015/16, is quadruple the amount
proposed by the cruise industry, according to
peak body TTF.
But the State Government, which announced
the $20pp fee yesterday, said it was required
to “allow a greater investment in cruise
infrastructure”.
State Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan
Gay said the current charge of $250 an hour to
berth in Sydney was “not economically
sustainable” and it was time for the industry to
cough up.
“The NSW Government had already launched
an $87 million program to improve
infrastructure to support the State’s booming
cruise ship industry and it’s only fair to ask the
cruise industry to help meet the costs,” Gay
said.
“There is no reason to suggest cruise growth
in Sydney will be impacted by this new, fair
and transparent fee,” he added.
But as a TTF spokesperson explained to
Cruise Weekly, the increase in Sydney
Harbour’s wharfing costs has gone too far.
“An average P&O ship would use eight hours
at most, leaving it liable for $2000, which
divided between 2000 passengers is $1,” he
said.
“Clearly that was too low and the industry
had been talking to the Government to work
out a rise, but we feel the $20/pax from 2013,
then $25 in 2014 and then $30 in 2015 is
unjustifiable.”
The cruise industry had proposed a passenger
charge of around $5 per head, he said.
TTF chief executive John Lee also condemned
the fee as “a tax on success”.
“The cruise industry recognises that it should
pay its fair share but this new charge goes
beyond cost recovery and is designed to give
Sydney Ports a new profit stream,” Lee said.
“Overnight, Sydney Harbour will become one
of the world’s most expensive for cruise ships.”
Lee said TTF was particularly concerned that
other states may follow NSW’s lead, leading to
massive increases for passengers visiting
multiple Australian ports.
“TTF urges the NSW Government to
undertake genuine consultations with the
industry before the tax commences in 2013 to
devise a system that more fairly recovers
costs,” Lee said.