Push for local port authority

By Bethany Williams and Shane Scanlan

Docklanders are united around a plan to declare the area a local port to overcome bureaucratic paralysis.

Locals want to see Victoria Harbour and the river between the Bolte Bridge and the MCG become a port so it can be managed by a single body.

The river is currently subject to about 20 different pieces of legislation so it is virtually impossible to introduce any reforms.

The issue has come into sharp focus from a push to introduce a dedicated and regular commuter shuttle service between Federation Square and NewQuay.

At the Melbourne Waterfront Forum on October 17, participants were unanimous in support of a single waterways authority.

Destination Melbourne CEO Chris Buckingham suggested a ministerial taskforce was needed at the highest level to cut through the current legislative and regulatory labyrinth.

Docklands Chamber of Commerce president Stephen Clement said the waterways' governance issues were the key to activating Docklands.

The president of the Yarra River Business Association, John Ahern, went further and pledged funds to put together a business plan which showed the need for a single governing authority.

Parks Victoria is the day-to-day regulator of activity on the river and in Victoria Harbour.  But proponents of the local port authority lament that Parks is an under-funded regulator without any mandate or incentive to champion reform.

They argue that Parks is merely a contracted service-deliverer, but what is needed is an authority with the vision, energy and capacity to return multi-million dollar value back to the community.

They point to other “local ports” around Victoria such as Port Fairy and Lakes Entrance where the local municipality runs things via a committee of management representing all stakeholders.

City of Melbourne officers say they need to be directed by councillors if they are going to pursue the idea.

The council’s city design director Rob Adams publicly supported the concept at the inaugural Docklands Community Forum last month.

A City of Melbourne spokesperson said the management of Docklands’ waterways was cumbersome, with over 20 different authorities or pieces of legislation governing its use and environment.

“The City of Melbourne has no formal proposal for the establishment of Docklands as a port, although it does present a possible solution to streamline the complex governance arrangements that oversee Victoria Harbour,” the spokesperson said.

Docklands charter boat operator Jeff Gordon agrees that Docklands needs its own port authority because the current governance of Docklands waterways is not working.

“The current situation, with the State Government managing through Parks Victoria, doesn’t always work in the interest of water activation,” Mr Gordon said.

Mr Gordon said Parks Victoria’s interest was in cost recovery and that it had a “mean and green attitude” towards Docklands waterways.

He said Docklands’ waterways were an asset to Melbourne and needed to be managed by skilled people.

“The value of the waterways to the economy of Melbourne should not be underestimated,” Mr Gordon said.

Mr Gordon said a port authority for Docklands could work in the same way as the Port of Melbourne in terms of activating the water.

Along with being a container and general cargo port, the Port of Melbourne plays a role in supporting water activation through community activities such as the Port Heritage Trail and guided tours of the port.

Lord mayoral candidate and Docklands charter boat operator Keith Rankin also agreed that Docklands should be a port.

Mr Rankin said Docklands should have a port authority because it needed one single governing authority.

He said the Melbourne Passenger Boarting Association’s view was that this authority should be the city council.

Mr Rankin said the council was the only agency that could handle all the requirements of a port because they had staff who had knowledge of marketing, administration, events, marine environments and planning.

“Importantly, they are not business or tourism averse,” Mr Rankin said.