The Daintree Ferry - how we got into this dilemma and our way out
LETTER TO EDITOR
Dear Editor,
In his first 'Jungle Drum' article, Lawrence Mason discussed the Daintree ferry issue. I would like to provide more detail.
The December 2019 Council meeting agreed to the terms of a new contract with Sirron Pty Ltd; this would have provided one full-time solar-assisted electric ferry as well as an additional ferry to operate in tandem at busy times, and as a spare if the main ferry was out of action.
There would have been no queues during the tourist season. Additionally, using a solar-assisted ferry to cross into the iconic Daintree Rainforest would have been environmentally appropriate and a public relations coup for our Shire.
It was expected that Council would expeditiously complete any further negotiations and execute the contract. There was no need to wait for the new Mayor or Council to be elected.
Unfortunately, this was not to be as Council did not move forward with the contract. This was the start of our ferry-related financial disaster and many ratepayers want to know why.
Soon after election, Mayor Kerr initiated a public consultation as to whether the ratepayers preferred a ferry or a bridge. The result was 2-1 in favour of a ferry.
After further months of delay, and with the significant possibility of having no ferry, Council announced that it would exercise the right under the previous contract to buy the existing, old ferry.
The previous contract stated that such a sale had to be at an "agreed price", not one set by Council or a valuer.
Sirron, after having the contract for the new ferry service lapse and facing a substantial loss of future revenue, sold the ferry to Council for $4.5 million, far more than it was worth.
So, it came about that we, the ratepayers, paid "through the nose" for a very old ferry, probably nearing the end of its useful working life.
Few remember that under the old contract, Sirron paid Council approximately $1 million per year. Also, most are unaware of the effort Sirron went to to keep the previous ferry operating – fixing problems at night, etc. In short, Sirron had done a great job for the Shire.
Council eventually decided it would build one large ferry with multiple loading and unloading lanes, which would require extensive works both sides of the Daintree River. The estimated cost of the ferry and site works was $6 million. No traffic studies, environmental impact studies or cost-benefit analysis were undertaken.
To move the responsibility of owning and running the ferry away from Council, Cr Zammataro recently succeeded in moving a motion asking for Expressions of Interest from private operators to provide and manage the ferry service. The attempts to block this motion in the previous two Council meetings were quite bizarre - it is worth watching the recordings.
Mr Mason correctly said that there is now the prospect of not having a new ferry before the current one must be dry-docked in Cairns in 2028 for an AMSA safety inspection and, no doubt, expensive repairs.
What a financial catastrophe for the Shire this saga continues to be.
Best,
Doug Quarry
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