FRESHWATER MANLY FERRIES
Petition
Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown) (16:22): A ride on the Freshwater ferry from Circular Quay to Manly is a rite of passage. While some may see the ferry as just another mode of transport, just another way to get from point A to point B—and that obviously includes the member for Ku-ring-gai—this is not the case for the several million international tourists who visit this city during normal times. Nor is it the case for the many regional visitors from across the State, and indeed the entire country, who bring their children to what is inarguably this country's finest capital city to experience it and all it has to offer. For those visitors, a ride on the Manly ferry is considered an essential Sydney experience.
A ride on the Freshwater class ferry is not just about the destination it takes you to; it is about how you travel. It is about seeing this city from the deck of the ferry, with the wind in your hair and the saltwater on your skin. Riding on a big ferry is an experience that ranks alongside other must-do activities while visiting Sydney, such as visiting the Opera House and viewing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and visiting Bondi Beach and Taronga Zoo. It is one of Sydney's quintessential experiences. It is a journey that has been immortalised in songs, books, films and indeed our collective memory since 1850 when the first big ferries took to Sydney Harbour. It is a voyage that contributes to the northern beaches' $500 million-a-year tourism industry by delivering many of the several million people who visit Manly each year. The removal and reduction of the Freshwater class ferry from Sydney Harbour will surely land a major blow to the businesses and the people of Manly. It is a travesty that this Government is leading that.
The Government wants to replace all but two of the Freshwater class ferries with smaller foreign‑made Emerald class ferries. The remaining Freshwater ferries will run on weekends and on public holidays. That is yet another of the Government's short-sighted cost-cutting measures at the expense of the people of Manly and the local businesses. Like the 22,000 people who signed today's petition, I hold serious concerns about the Government's plans for the Manly ferry service. That plan is to replace the Freshwater class diesel‑engine ferry with another diesel‑fuelled vessel, which has no capacity to be retrofitted with an electric engine, unlike the Freshwater class of ferry. It is beyond short-sighted. It reeks of the kind of planning the Government is renowned for, which is ad hoc, ad lib, absurd, impromptu and myopic planning.
Most shocking of all is that there are real concerns about the Emerald ferry's capacity to handle the large ocean swells that regularly roll through Sydney Harbour's headlands. We know that when the smaller ferries get cut, they get replaced with buses. We know that the large Freshwater class ferries can handle much bigger seas than the smaller ones. When the Emerald class ferries first arrived in Australia, more than 80 defects or safety concerns were identified by inspectors. Those defects included faulty windows, poor plumbing in the engine rooms and, unbelievably, as the member for Swansea raised, concerns that the hulls were too thin to hold a rigid form. They are problems that would not have occurred had the vessels been manufactured in New South Wales—perhaps in Newcastle where they used to be built. Those problems would not have occurred if the Government did not undertake this exercise in lunacy.
The Freshwater ferries, which have been well maintained, potentially have decades of service ahead of them and must be retained. The petitioners are calling for a scheduled maintenance program, which must be put in place for all four ferries, and for a new replacement plan which includes double-ended vessels with a capacity for 1,000 passengers on the Manly route. That plan must be developed. I thank and congratulate the Deputy Mayor of Northern Beaches Council, Councillor Candy Bingham. I recognise the Save the Manly Ferries group and the work it has done in getting more than 22,000 signatures. I recognise the protest that the group held earlier today in Martin Place. I also recognise that the group travelled to Martin Place using the Manly Freshwater class ferry. I call on the Government to listen to the more than 22,000 people who have signed the petition. Those 22,000 people represent only a fraction of those who oppose the plan. The Government must go back to the drawing board and work with all stakeholders to develop a commonsense approach that will see all four Freshwater class ferries retained.
This speech was given in support of a petition tabled on behalf of more than ten thousand citizens of New South Wales. You can read the full debate here.
