White Bay Terminal could be a white elephant

The essence of urban planning is clear-sighted estimation of the future, coordination and a holistic approach. Alas, that isn’t the forte of the NSW Government whose ‘planning’ is a cross between pandering to the developers and engineering firms that donate to the major parties, obsessive secrecy, hostility to the public and just plain muddle.

The standard operating procedure is known professionally as DAD – ‘Decide, Announce, Defend’, and Planning Minister Kristina Keneally’s approach to the White Bay issue is a classic of the genre.

First, in the absence of a coherent master plan, she announces that a marine fuels facility will go ahead; then she promises there will be some sort of public consultation, some time.

But let’s apply a little logic to the passenger terminal problem.

First step: look to the future. Peak oil is already hitting air travel harder than any other industry and this will only get worse (have you noticed that the merest hint of economic stabilisation has sent oil prices rocketing up again?). The expensive energy future may well dictate a return to ocean travel. If that is the case, we are looking at a far more serious issue than cruise ship holidays. Within a decade, those liners may end up running real passenger services.

Next, an ugly fact: of the 50-odd large cruise ships currently under construction in the world, none will fit under the Harbour Bridge. Unless the Federal Government moves to influence the shipbuilders with a plea for lower ships, a White Bay terminal will end up as a white elephant when the current generation of ships go out of service.

If the height problem could be solved, Barangaroo would be a better place for the terminal, but the government has it pegged for another of its silly fantasies – the Pacific hub of Global Finance. Why this isn’t compatible with a passenger terminal is never explained.

The one remaining option east of the Harbour Bridge (short of evicting the Navy from Garden Island) would be the historic Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo Bay. This would involve paying bucket-loads of money to the wealthy owners of apartments there (including Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman), but it may still be the cheapest option by far and it would accommodate up to four liners. Barangaroo and Woolloomooloo Bay should be seriously considered.

– By Gavin Gatenby