September 12, 2018 Cruise industry high and dry without Broome gangway The McGowan Government’s failure to install an all-tide gangway and address access for cruise ships at Broome Port continues to undermine the tourism potential of Western Australia, according to Shadow Tourism Minister Libby Mettam. In April this year, three major cruise liners removed Broome from their itinerary because of the uncertainty around passenger access without an all-tide gangway. Despite allocating money from the tourism events budget to fund dredging at the Broome Port, the work is yet to be undertaken and the industry is hearing it may not happen at all. Ms Mettam said it was embarrassing that 140 plus leaders from the international cruise industry would descend on Broome today for the Australian Cruise Association Conference and the State Government had not yet fixed the access problems at the port. “I believe Tourism Minister Paul Papalia will have a last-minute meeting with engineers in Broome today but the question has to be asked why he is still only talking about this? ” Ms Mettam said. “The industry has been calling for this solution for a year, the Federal Government has chipped in with funding and the McGowan Government has done nothing. “In November 2017, Broome Port notified ships’ agents they had been unable to provide an all-tides gangway which has resulted in at least five cruises cancelled with 600-1000 passengers on each one, which represents significant opportunity lost not just to Broome but all ports on the WA coastline. “Broome has the potential to be in the top 5 destinations in the world given its access to the Kimberley and what the destination delivers.” Ms Mettam said industry experts had advised her the design, construction and delivery of an all-tide gangway system was neither complex nor difficult. “In the context of plummeting tourism spend figures it defies any logic that this matter is still yet to be resolved,” Ms Mettam said. “There has already been a 15 per cent loss in cruise boat visits, what figure does the Minister want to see before he does something? “Meetings and talking won’t fix this problem.” Media Contact |
