Community fears a controversial Yarra Bay cruise terminal is back on the table
Image: Plans for Sydney's third cruise terminal in Botany Bay have been dusted off at a conference last month. Photo: Wikimedia commons.
By JACOB DE NOBREGA
A controversial plan to construct a cruise terminal in Botany is back on the cards, after the idea was broached by top executives at a cruise conference last month.
In 2018, the NSW government made a proposal to build a third Sydney cruise ship terminal in Yarra Bay. The proposal was met with backlash from community groups and Randwick Council, and led to a protest outside Royal Caribbean’s cruise terminal in Circular Quay.
The proposal for Sydney’s third cruise terminal were delayed by the COVID 19 pandemic when the cruise industry took a downturn.
Phillip Holliday, the CEO of the Port Authority of NSW, told Cruise Passenger that capacity issues have been raised now that cruises are picking up again.
Holliday said that the Yarra Bay terminal business case prepared before the pandemic had been “dusted off”.
“We are starting to see capacity issues raised again now that ships are back – so I think it is something to consider.”
Why was this proposal so controversial?
In July 2018, shortly after the proposal for the cruise ship terminal, the ‘Save Yarra Bay Coalition’ was formed. The coalition’s goal was to promote the significant cultural, economic, and environmental issues that this cruise terminal would create if it were to go ahead.
Randwick Council and the Save Yarra Bay Coalition worked closely together to oppose construction of the terminal, citing significant environmental impacts, negative effects on marine life, and changes to tidal patterns.
