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North Sydney Wharf Upgrade

Published on: October 2022

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-128053

North Sydney Wharf Upgrade

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (12:10:28):

I move:

That this House:

(1)Notes that the newly upgraded North Sydney Wharf is now safer and more accessible not only for local commuters but also for visitors to the North Shore.

(2)Recognises that this upgrade includes a new accessible path, a completely new wharf pontoon, customer seating, a kiss‑and‑ride zone, bicycle hoops and weather protection.

(3)Acknowledges that the Government and Minister for Transport are ensuring that we are providing the best public transport experience and infrastructure across the North Shore and New South Wales.

There is no better way to get around our beautiful Sydney Harbour than by ferry. I am fortunate to live in a community that can experience a picturesque commute to work, as can visitors to the area, who may visit by ferry and enjoy the beautiful harbour surrounds. I note a number of waterfront MPs are in the Chamber today, including the member for Balmain, the member for Oxley and the member for Port Macquarie. We know how fortunate we are. Thanks to investment in public transport, ferries are an incredibly efficient and longstanding way of moving people around Sydney Harbour. Ferries in Sydney are synonymous with our harbour. They have had a rich history over the course of the past 200 years. At one point in time they were the only way to go from one side of the harbour to the other. Thanks to the New South Wales Liberal-Nationals Government we are increasing accessibility for communities and travellers who use ferries on our harbour.

I made a commitment to my local community to upgrade our local ferry wharves at North Sydney, South Mosman and Taronga Zoo. It was a great pleasure to open our brand new North Sydney Wharf with the Minister for Transport. The wharf is now fully accessible for customers and visitors alike. It is located at the end of High Street, North Sydney, next to Kesterton Park, which has a beautiful little playground. The North Sydney Wharf is a hidden gem in our emerald city. The overwater walkway connects the wharf to Sub Base Platypus, which the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust has reimagined and re-engineered from an historic submarine base to ensure that it is a valuable community asset for everybody in Sydney.

Earlier this year the Minister joined me to open the wharf, which now provides a much-improved public transport experience for our Transport for NSW customers. The wharf has been transformed and features a new accessible path that leads to a new gangway and a covered, floating pontoon, which it did not previously have. That has improved the efficiency and safety for passengers at the wharf as ferries pick up and drop off passengers. There is improved weather protection from the wet weather as well as improved customer seating and a new accessible parking space. For those who know the area, it is very hard to find parking. In fact, it is hard to get vehicles down the street. We have made space not only for an accessible parking space to improve accessibility but also for a kiss-and-ride zone, which is very valuable given the type of urban street that it is. There are also bicycle hoops to ensure that people can utilise active transport to get around.

The member for Tweed is in the Chamber and he is very excited about ferries. He may seek leave to make a contribution later on. Prior to the upgrade, commuters and visitors with mobility needs were unable to access High Street from the wharf. That included customers with prams and those with assisted and unassisted mobility needs. The existing wharf included an uncovered jetty and tidal steps for pick-up and drop-off. The wharf is now fully accessible and designed to meet the disability standards for accessible public transport. It is a positive outcome for local communities and visitors to the area, who can now disembark and board safely and more efficiently. I acknowledge the patience of my local community, who I am sure will join with me to celebrate that new and improved infrastructure.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive from those who use the floating pontoon to start their day or for others taking a trip to the city. The North Sydney Wharf is a fine example of the benefit of our Government's Transport Access Program, which ensures that commuters in the area can look forward to future upgrades at a range of other locations including South Mosman Wharf, which locals like to call Musgrave Street wharf, and the ever‑famous Taronga Zoo Wharf, to ensure that everybody can access our ferries and our harbour. Upgrades to wharves around different parts of the city include at Parramatta, Rydalmere, Cabarita and Abbotsford. It is city‑changing infrastructure. It is essential that our modern transport system can deliver infrastructure that is accessible to all commuters and is futureproofed to meet the demands of a growing population.

That is exactly what we have seen with the work at North Sydney Wharf through the Transport Access Program, which follows a range of different wharf upgrades that have happened in my community throughout the period of time that the Liberals and Nationals have been in Government including at Milsons Point, McMahons Point and Neutral Bay. Those investments in infrastructure make a difference to people's lives. Beyond the benefits to North Sydney commuters and visitors, the Transport Access Program also provides a boost to local economies and industries. A range of different industries and providers across New South Wales have supported the delivery of those products. Members opposite often criticise the way in which we undertake public transport infrastructure in New South Wales but, sadly, they forget that more than two-thirds of the material used in the construction of those ferries and wharves is sourced in Australia. That supports not only Australian jobs but also Australian communities.

More than 80 per cent of the equipment value itself was sourced from Australian suppliers. Not only do we have jobs but also we have skills and manufacturing capability. We are investing back into communities including in Port Macquarie—I am sure the member for Port Macquarie will speak about the involvement of her community—Newcastle and across Sydney. Master craftsmen, designers and a range of different skills and capabilities go into constructing and designing the fleets and infrastructure at the wharves themselves. Sydney can be a really challenging place for which to design and construct ferries to ensure they can withstand the really high swells in Sydney Harbour. Due to the increasing wet weather and weather patterns across Australia, particularly the east coast of New South Wales at the moment, we must ensure that we build and deliver infrastructure to meet those challenges.

One night at Cremorne Point Wharf in my community, severe weather cracked the roof of the ferry wharf. That has never happened. The entire roof had to be removed, the wharf had to be shut down and a new roof had to be constructed. I believe it was constructed in Port Macquarie and floated down to Cremorne for installation. Even with the best skills, materials and Australian capability in design that has been put into this, it is an incredibly challenging environment. I salute those who did all of that work to ensure that we have that infrastructure and those services to make the best public transport for people in my area and across New South Wales.

Ms JULIA FINN (Granville) (12:17:36):

I note the comments from the member for North Shore and I congratulate her on getting the ferry wharf that she appreciates so much. I refer particularly to comments she made about the new wharves along the Parramatta River, which were built to futureproof the ferry services along that river. The future that those wharves needed to be futureproofed for include the new River-class ferries that could not dock on the former wharves. We had perfectly good wharves along the Parramatta River, but they all had to be replaced for those stupid River-class ferries which, as with so much of the Government's public infrastructure, were bought off the shelf from overseas, instead of being built to tender specifications.

The Government regards building public transport to tender specifications rather than buying it off the shelf as an old-fashioned, silly thing to do, but it has been caught wanting. It thinks it can save money by buying goods off the shelves, but it has to spend money elsewhere to replace the ferry wharves so that the River‑class ferries are able to dock. Let us look at the other problems with the River-class ferries.

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