Scott Morrison must reconsider Garden Island as the location of Sydney’s next cruise ship terminal.
The Member for Cook has been silent on the NSW Liberals’ plan for a massive cruise ship terminal at Yarra Bay and within sight of his own electorate.
Yet it was the former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who made a captain’s call to rule out Garden Island as the preferred location.
That call was made despite Garden Island being named the most suitable location by an expert Cruise Industry Reference Group chaired by former NSW Opposition Leader and Navy Reserve Captain Peter Collins.
Mr Collins has noted that the crucial 2018 report he authored was never read or considered by the former Member for Wentworth when making this vital decision.
Details of the Collins report have never been released with the NSW Liberals citing cabinet-in-confidence.
The full report needs to be released by the Berejiklian government in the interests of public transparency and government accountability
It is also time for the current Prime Minister to acknowledge that Garden Island is the obvious location representing the preference for both industry, value for money for the tax payer and the preferred choice for many communities.
An independent review shows that accommodating cruise ships at Garden Island would cost $143 million. And yet the Liberals want the taxpayers of NSW to spend over $500 million on an ill-conceived cruise ship terminal at Yarra Bay.
The La Perouse Aboriginal community have an unbroken connection to the Yarra Bay area for over 7,500 years and object to the planned destruction of Yarra Bay to build a cruise ship terminal.
They are joining a wide range of community stakeholders today at the Yarra Bay Community Forum to voice their opposition to the NSW Liberals’ proposed cruise ship terminal at Yarra Bay.
The Member for Maroubra, Michael Daley MP has today called for a NSW Legislative Council inquiry into the proposal that has been shrouded in secrecy from day one.
