Image: The proposed use of White Bay for docking navy ships has sparked debate within the community.
The proposed use of White Bay for docking navy ships has sparked debate within the community.
At a press conference on Monday February 6, the Minister for Roads and Ports, Duncan Gay, said the state government was considering having naval ships “lay-up” at the White Bay terminal to allow larger cruise ships to use Garden Island.
A government spokesperson said the option remains only “speculation” until Dr Allen Hawke releases his independent review and greater public discussion occurs. The spokesperson said a “lay-up” refers to the temporary parking of vessels.
The review, announced last year by Minister of Defence, Stephen Smith, is looking into alternative sites for naval ship docking and maintenance to create room for larger cruise ships at Garden Island, which is located east of the Harbour Bridge and predominantly used by the navy.
A Defence spokesperson said the review considered several options including naval ships using a commercial berth at White Bay. They said the review has been delivered to the Minister for Defence’s office, but no decisions have been made regarding its findings or when and how the findings will be released to the public.
Leichhardt Council has attacked the announcement as proof of poor planning arising from what it calls the ad-hoc development of White Bay and the greater Bay’s Precinct.
President of Friends of White Bay (FWB), a community group against current development plans for White Bay as a cruise terminal, Michael Lehmann, said the group is opposed to the naval lay-up option. He said the fact that it emerged without community consultation indicates poor decision-making.
Secretary of FWB, Heather Trainer, said she wondered what had happened to the “argument the Navy needs to be east of the bridge for defense purposes”. Minister Gay said there was no longer a tactical need for ships on the east side.
Convener of the community group Pyrmont Action, Elizabeth Elenius, said Glebe Island which is across from White Bay would be better suited for naval ships.
She said many Pyrmont residents are not opposed to port and maritime activity and suggested docking naval ships at Glebe Island to prevent competition with cruise liners at White Bay.
Leichhardt Council cited a report which said 80 per cent of cruise ships in 20 years will be too tall to travel under the Harbour Bridge.
“Most of the Cruise Ship berths will need to be located east of the Bridge, which begs the question: ‘why spend over $60 million building a Cruise Ship Terminal which will be largely redundant in just a few years?’,” Mayor for Leichhardt, Rochelle Porteous said in a statement.
A State Government spokesperson said: “This year we have 214 vessel visits to Sydney, up from 150 last year – that’s a 43 per cent increase, with more to come – next year, we already have bookings for 264 cruise ship visits.”
Leichhardt Council and FWB have both called for a moratorium on current development at White Bay until the completion of a Bay’s Precinct master plan.
By Dominic Dietrich
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