Community rallies to cut motor on cruise terminal

A Leichhardt community group rallied outside NSW Parliament House on Wednesday to protest against the White Bay development project.

Fifty members from Friends of White Bay called for an immediate start to the Bays Precinct master plan and for Sydney Ports to stop its cruise ship terminal construction works and conduct community consultation.

Friends of White Bay president Michael Lehmann submitted a petition with over a thousand signatures to the Greens MP Jamie Parker at the protest.

“The rally was to ensure that the NSW government understood that residents’ interest in the White Bay cruise terminal is actually increasing, and so is the resistance to it at a local level,” Mr Lehmann said.

“We know that demolition has already started but we don’t think that necessarily means the state government shouldn’t revisit and make a different decision with regards to the cruise terminal,” he said.

Mr Lehmann said the petition had the support of Mayor of Leichhardt Rochelle Porteous and Mr Parker.

Sydney Ports spokesperson said the development project, which involves the construction of a cruise ship terminal and a corporate function centre, started late last week and would be completed by early 2013 to cope with the 264 ships already booked for the 2012-13 season.

Planning Minister Brad Hazzard announced in May that City of Sydney and Leichhardt Council would be involved in the development of the Bays Precinct Master Plan to ensure “fair dinkum” consultation before major decisions such as the White Bay cruise ship terminal were made.

Cr Porteous said during a meeting with Sydney Ports on November 11, the Council had requested for a full community consultation plan from Sydney Ports to be available in two weeks, but the company’s response was negative.

“Basically, they don’t see the necessity of the consultation,” she said.

A Sydney Ports spokesperson said the company had undertaken extensive consultation with various stakeholders for almost two years and had advised the local community of the demolition work.

“Telling people what Sydney Ports is doing is not consultation; working with the community to examine the options and include people in the process is the consultation people are looking for – genuine consultation,” Mr Parker said.

“We want integration, really good public access, quality landscape; we would like to see economic benefit as part of that public benefit,” Cr Porteous said.

By Josephine Kwan