2011 Queensland’s Recreational Marine Industry
Dr. Alan J Blackman PhD in collaboration with Marine Queensland. 24th December 2011
Table of Contents CONTENTS Tables .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Figures ................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Forward .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Demography ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Population distribution ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Industry size and performance ................................................................................................................. 5 Industry Export Performance 2011 .................................................................................................................... 8 Natural Disaster Impacts On the Marine Industry .............................................................................................. 9 Geographic distribution of vessel registrations ................................................................................................ 10 National distribution ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Queensland distribution ............................................................................................................................... 10 Vessel size ......................................................................................................................................................... 12 Growth in vessel registrations across Australia ................................................................................................ 12 Growth in vessel registrations in Queensland .................................................................................................. 13 Growth in vessel registrations in Queensland regions ..................................................................................... 15 Summary of Gold Coast research ..................................................................................................................... 16 Infrastructure.......................................................................................................................................... 17 Provision and management of recreational marine infrastructure .................................................................. 17 South-east Queensland projects 2011.......................................................................................................... 18 Southern Queensland projects ..................................................................................................................... 18 Central Queensland projects ........................................................................................................................ 19 Northern Queensland projects ..................................................................................................................... 19 Boat ramps........................................................................................................................................................ 19 Marinas ............................................................................................................................................................. 21 Boat Safety, Licensing and Usage ........................................................................................................... 21 Safety ................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Licensing ........................................................................................................................................................... 22 Usage ................................................................................................................................................................ 23
DR ALAN BLACKMAN PhD, for Marine Queensland 2011 Industry Report
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Marine Industry Challenges .................................................................................................................... 23 Marine Industry Opportunities ............................................................................................................... 24 Conclusions and recommendations ....................................................................................................... 24 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 25 Useful websites....................................................................................................................................... 26 About the Author.................................................................................................................................... 27 Future Industry Research Request Form ................................................................................................ 28 Notes ...................................................................................................................................................... 29
TABLES Table 1: Vessel registrations in the top sixteen LGA's in Queensland by vessel type on 30 September 2011. .... 11 Table 2: S1 recreational vessel registrations in leading Queensland LGA's from June 2009 to June 2011. ......... 16 Table 4: Public boat ramp locations compared to September 2011 vessel registration. ..................................... 20 Table 5: Reported marine incidents in Queensland by calendar year. (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/~/media/e2a020dc-4a38-40a7-8f3e5668917c7191/reported_marine_incidents.pdf, accessed 23 Dec 11). ............................................................... 22 Table 6: Infringement notices issued to vessel operators in Queensland, July to September 2011. (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/About-us/Rti-msq-main/Published-information/Lists-and-registers/Minprosecution.aspx, accessed 23 Dec 2011). ........................................................................................................... 22 Table 7: Summary of recreational marine licence holders, Queensland, by licence type and month. (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/~/media/b8dbe198-00b8-4e54-877e11a2ea49b277/pdf_recreational_licences.pdf accessed 24 Dec 11) ................................................................... 23
FIGURES Figure 1: Australian Dollar to US Dollar exchange rate trend from January 2007 to November 2011 (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/currency, accessed 23 Dec 11). ................................................... 5 Figure 2: Trend of the benchmark interest rate in Australia from January 2007 to December 2011. (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/interest-rate, accessed 23 Dec 11). ............................................. 6 Figure 3: Queensland's economic zones in 2011. (Curthoys 2011, p. 5.) ............................................................... 7 Figure 4: Growth projections for Queensland's economic sectors. (Curthoys 2011, p. 6.) .................................... 8 Figure 5: Australian Marine Industry trade balance projection to 2015. ............................................................... 9 Figure 6: Queensland floods and cyclone timeline in 2011. ................................................................................... 9 Figure 7: Port Hinchinbrook's marine following Cyclone Yasi in February 2011. (Courier Mail, 874518) ............ 10 Figure 8: Proportion of total recreational vessel registrations by Local Government Area (derived from data supplied by Queensland Dept. of Transport & Main Roads). ............................................................................... 11
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Figure 9: Proportion of registered recreational vessels in Queensland in September 2011 by vessel length (derived from data supplied by Queensland Dept. of Transport & Main Roads). ................................................ 12 Figure 10: Registered recreational marine vessel registrations in Australia by state from 2004 to 2011. .......... 13 Figure 11: Polynomial trend of total vessel registrations from June 2004 to June 2011 (derived from data supplied by Queensland Dept. of Transport & Main Roads). ............................................................................... 14 Figure 12: Forty two month trend of total number of registered recreational vessels in Queensland. .............. 14 Figure 13: Forty two month trend of number of registered vessels with sails in Queensland............................. 14 Figure 14: Forty two month trend of number of registered vessels without sails in Queensland. ...................... 14 Figure 15: Forty two month trend of total number of registered motorboats in Queensland. ........................... 14 Figure 16: Forty two month trend of total number of registered speedboats in Queensland............................. 15 Figure 17: Forty two month trend of total number of registered PWC’s in Queensland. .................................... 15 Figure 18: Number of S1 recreational vessel registrations in Queensland's key local authorities for boating activity. ................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Figure 19: Public boat ramp locations compared to September 2011 vessel registrations. ................................ 20 Figure 20: Percentage of recreational vessel registrations compared to the proportion of marinas in each State in September 2011. .............................................................................................................................................. 21
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FORWARD The Recreational and Light Commercial Marine Industry is a significant contributor to Regional, State and National economies. Queensland is at the forefront of the industry in Australia. This report is the fourth annual report on the size and performance of the industry in Queensland. It compares growth with other States of Australia and takes an in-depth look at the various sectors that make up this vibrant industry. As was indicated in the forward to the 2009 and 2010 reports, it is intended that the scope and content of this report will evolve and be refined over time. The aim of the report is to provide practical insights into the operation and development of the industry within this State. Marine Queensland is the Peak Industry Association for the Marine Industry. It encompasses:
Marine Brokers; Manufacturers; Marina developers and operators; Marine Surveyors; Charter Boat operators; Queensland Small Craft Council; Retailers and Marine Dealers; Boat syndicators; Marine educators and Licensors; Finance and Insurance providers; Moreton Bay Access Alliance; Recruitment and workforce development providers.
The year started with devastating floods and the massive cyclone Yasi. These disasters naturally took their toll on the economic performance of the industry and the State economy generally. Apart from the physical damage, we saw widespread property and infrastructure damage and loss of confidence. Given the challenges the disasters presented, along with the continued global economic uncertainty, the Queensland industry held its own. We continue to seek growth in the industry as well as important linkages being developed into high performing sectors of the Queensland economy, such as resources and tourism. Tough economic times always result in new innovations and new ways of doing business. I am certain that despite the challenges that have visited the industry, it will continue to grow, develop and mature within the State and national economies. Marine Queensland welcomes any feedback you may have on this report or its future research priorities. A fax back sheet has been included in the report for this purpose. I commend the 2011 Annual Report to you.
Sharon Russell – President
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QUEENSLAND’S RECREATIONAL MARINE INDUSTRY: DECEMBER 2011 DEMOGRAPHY POPULATION DISTRIBUTION th
On 30 June 2011, Australia’s estimated population was 22.6 million, an increase of 1.4% over the prior year. Of that, Queensland’s population was 4.6 million, an increase of 1.7%; the second fastest rate of growth behind Western Australia (2.4%). At that time, Queensland’s population was 20.3% of the National population and Queensland was the third largest state behind NSW (7.3 million; 32.3%) and Victoria (5.6 million; 24.9%) (ABS 2011).
INDUSTRY SIZE AND PERFORMANCE Like the Australian economy, Queensland’s economy was a two-speed economy in 2011: boosted by the mining boom in central and western parts of the State, but depressed by low consumer confidence and a strong Australian dollar’s negative impact on non-mining exports and an encouragement of imports. Widespread flooding early in 2011 and severe cyclone Yasi also contributed to a difficult year for many. Gold Coast City, Queensland’s largest market for leisure marine registrations was particularly affected by the economic slowdown: via severely depressed construction activity, slowing tourism from previously high spending regions internationally, and slow retail sales. Figure 1 highlights the volatility of the Australian Dollar over the five years from January 2007 and its current high value in historical terms.
Figure 1: Australian Dollar to US Dollar exchange rate trend from January 2007 to November 2011 (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/currency, accessed 23 Dec 11).
As a consequence, and despite comparatively low official interest rates of 4.75% throughout the year, dropping to 4.25% in December (Figure 2), the leisure Marine sector on the Gold Coast continued to contract in 2010-2011, and to contract sharply on top of a moderate contraction in 2009-2010. For example, in 20102011 the number of Gold Coast Marine Industry businesses declined by 12.7% and the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in the sector declined by 35.9%. Over the same period, the median estimate of annual revenue per business decreased by an estimated 29.1%, although these findings should be treated with
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caution as they are based on findings from a randomised sample of businesses from a commercial database and not on a government census (Blackman and Hurd 2010; Blackman and Hurd 2011).
Figure 2: Trend of the benchmark interest rate in Australia from January 2007 to December 2011. (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/interest-rate, accessed 23 Dec 11).
As reported in our last two reports, the impact of the economy in other regional areas of the State continues to have had a direct relationship to the robustness of those centres. For example, regional centres in which the economy is reliant on one or two sectors, such as tourism and construction, have been impacted to a greater degree than regional economies with a diverse industry and commerce base, unless they have been able to benefit directly or indirectly from a boom in the mining industry. Going into 2012, the global economic picture remains hazy. There are some signs of improvement in the US economy, but some signs of slowing in China; while Europe’s position seems increasingly precarious. At a regional level, the Gold Coast has won its bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and this is likely to result in a financial boost to infrastructure spending in the city between now and 2018 and in a boost in tourism numbers as the Games draw closer. From a State economic perspective, the State economy is strongly driven by the resources, agriculture and tourism industries (Figure 3). The marine industry in recent years has experienced a greater degree of geographic diversification across the State due to the economic strength of regional centres and there are indications of further strengthening of this trend. Whilst the marine industry will never rival the economic strength of these major industry sectors, it does highlight the importance of the industry in terms of adding diversity to regional economies. On top of this it underlines the important social and environmental roles the industry plays in the broader economic landscape, particularly in regional areas where major industries overlap – typically in the State’s coastal areas.
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Figure 3: Queensland's economic zones in 2011. (Curthoys 2011, p. 5.)
The Queensland Government also reported a significant strengthening and evolution of these major industry sectors in the State (Figure 4). These developments and trends bode well for the marine industry, given the manner in which the industry has been able increasingly to develop cross sector linkages to the State’s high performing economic sectors.
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Figure 4: Growth projections for Queensland's economic sectors. (Curthoys 2011, p. 6.)
INDUSTRY EXPORT PERFORMANCE 2011 The industry’s performance in recent years has been supplemented by exports. However, due to the challenges associated with a strong currency and economic slowdown in export markets generally, Marine Industry exports have slowed. In 2011, although slight growth in Marine exports was experienced, the overall trade balance continued to be skewed towards imports. This trend is expected to continue.
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Figure 5 describes the actual and projected import-export performance of the Marine Industry’s manufacturing sector.
Figure 5: Australian Marine Industry trade balance projection to 2015.
NATURAL DISASTER IMPACTS ON THE MARINE INDUSTRY The natural disasters in Queensland in early 2011 caused significant physical and economic damage to the industry. The events unfolded as shown in Figure 6:
Figure 6: Queensland floods and cyclone timeline in 2011.
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The physical damage inflicted by these disasters included:
Four marinas destroyed and damage to a further 5 marinas; Physical damage to approximately 60 marine businesses; Significant damage to marine infrastructure such as pontoons, jetties, moorings and the like; Significant damage to the recreational fleet; Significant impacts to marine tourism businesses.
Figure 7: Port Hinchinbrook's marine following Cyclone Yasi in February 2011. (Courier Mail, 874518)
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF VESSEL REGISTRATIONS NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION th
Of the total registered recreational marine vessels in Australia on 30 June 2011, 29.6% (2009=29.0%; 2010=29.1%) had been registered in Queensland, 28.3% were in NSW (2009=27.8%; 2010=27.8%), 19.4% in Victoria (2009=21.4%; 2010=21.1%), 11.8% in WA (2009=11.6%; 2010=11.2%), 7.2% in SA (2009=7.0%; 2010=7.3%) and 3.6% in Tasmania (2009=3.4%; 2010=3.5%).
QUEENSLAND DISTRIBUTION As Table 1 and Figure 8 show, sixteen LGA’s accounted for 81.1% of all recreational vessel registrations in th Queensland at 30 September, 2011. At that time, 49.4% of recreational boat registrations in Queensland were located in the State’s south eastern corner in an area bordered by the Sunshine Coast, Ipswich and the Gold Coast. Other LGA’s of significance within Queensland included Mackay (5.3% of all registrations), Townsville (5.2%), Cairns (4.6%) Fraser Coast (4.0%), Bundaberg (3.6%), Rockhampton (3.6%), Gladstone (3.1%) and the Whitsunday region (2.2%). Except for vessels with sails, Gold Coast City continued to have the most registrations overall and in each class.
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Table 1: Vessel registrations in the top sixteen LGA's in Queensland by vessel type on 30 September 2011. Local Authority
Gold Coast CC
26,907
674
26,233
3,534
22,699
4,504
11.4%
11.4%
Position in 9/2011 1
Moreton Bay RC
19,743
556
19,187
2,270
16,917
1,440
8.3%
19.7%
2
2
Sunshine Coast RC
18,350
631
17,719
2,510
15,209
1,184
7.7%
27.4%
3
3
Brisbane City South
13,851
797
13,054
1,557
11,497
1,276
5.8%
33.3%
4
4
Mackay RC
12,655
261
12,394
888
11,506
420
5.3%
38.6%
5
5
Townsville CC
12,313
336
11,977
826
11,151
574
5.2%
43.8%
6
6
Brisbane City North
11,400
595
10,805
1,300
9,505
1,153
4.8%
48.6%
7
7
Logan CC
10,946
198
10,748
1,249
9,499
941
4.6%
53.2%
8
8
Redland CC
10,852
549
10,303
1,117
9,186
811
4.6%
57.8%
9
9
Cairns RC
10,840
410
10,430
929
9,501
427
4.6%
62.4%
10
10
Fraser Coast RC
9,476
306
9,170
1,100
8,070
272
4.0%
66.4%
11
11
Bundaberg RC
8,587
199
8,388
860
7,528
229
3.6%
70.0%
12
12
Rockhampton RC
8,432
218
8,214
779
7,435
305
3.6%
73.5%
13
13
Gladstone RC
7,246
183
7,063
692
6,371
244
3.1%
76.6%
14
14
Ipswich CC
5,287
82
5,205
667
4,538
402
2.2%
78.8%
15
15
Whitsunday RC
5,280
354
4,926
367
4,559
149
2.2%
81.1%
16
16
237,066
7,127
229,939
25,885
204,054
15,337
Total registrations by class
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
% of S1
Cum %
Position in 9/2010 1
Figure 8: Proportion of total recreational vessel registrations by Local Government Area (derived from data supplied by Queensland Dept. of Transport & Main Roads).
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VESSEL SIZE The median size for registered recreational vessels in Queensland in September 2011 was in the range of 4.1 to 4.5 metres. As Figure 9 indicates and consistent with data reported in 2008, 2009 and 2010, 62.4% of registered vessels were up to 4.5 metres and 37.6% were more than 4.5 metres in length. The most common size for registered recreational vessels in the State was within the range of 3.01 metres to 4.0 metres (36.5% of all registered vessels). Least common were vessels up to 3.0 metres in length (3.8% of all registered vessels). In all, 94.8% of registered recreational vessels in Queensland in September 2011 were eight meters or less in length.
Figure 9: Proportion of registered recreational vessels in Queensland in September 2011 by vessel length (derived from data supplied by Queensland Dept. of Transport & Main Roads).
GROWTH IN VESSEL REGISTRATIONS ACROSS AUSTRALIA th
On 30 June 2011, there were an estimated 780 thousand registered recreational marine vessels in Australia, th which represented an apparent 0.04% decrease compared to the year ended 30 June 2010. However, this finding should be interpreted with caution as not all boats require registration and so the total number of vessels may be much higher. The five year average annual growth rate in vessel registrations Australia-wide slowed slightly from 2.7% in 2010 to 2.6% in 2011 and as Figure 10 shows, recreational vessel registration numbers in Victoria, NSW and South Australia seemed to have contracted, by 7.5%, 1.6% and 0.5% respectively. However, this finding also should be interpreted with caution, as the apparent contraction in Victoria might have been influenced by inclusion of personal water craft registrations for some periods, but not others. Highest annual growth for the th year ending 30 June 2011 occurred in WA (5.7%).
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Figure 10: Registered recreational marine vessel registrations in Australia by state from 2004 to 2011.
GROWTH IN VESSEL REGISTRATIONS IN QUEENSLAND th
Queensland Transport recorded 233,554 registered recreational marine vessels in Queensland on 30 June 2011; an increase of 1.8% over the prior year, still significantly below the five year trend average of 2.9%. Figures 11 to 17 show the number of registrations state-wide by vessel classification, with polynomial trends for each class from April 2008 to September 2011. Of note is a 0.7% increase in the number of registered vessels with sails in September 2011 over September 2010, compared to a 1.7% decline from September 2009 to September 2010 (Figure 13).
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Figure 11: Polynomial trend of total vessel registrations from June 2004 to June 2011 (derived from data supplied by Queensland Dept. of Transport & Main Roads).
Figure 12: Forty two month trend of total number of registered recreational vessels in Queensland.
Figure 13: Forty two month trend of number of registered vessels with sails in Queensland.
Figure 14: Forty two month trend of number of registered vessels without sails in Queensland.
Figure 15: Forty two month trend of total number of registered motorboats in Queensland.
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Figure 16: Forty two month trend of total number of registered speedboats in Queensland.
Figure 17: Forty two month trend of total number of registered PWC’s in Queensland.
GROWTH IN VESSEL REGISTRATIONS IN QUEENSLAND REGIONS In June 2011, the top 16 local government authorities (LGA’s) accounted for 81.1% of recreational vessel registrations in Queensland and almost a quarter (24.4%) of Australia’s total recreational vessel registrations. As can be seen in Figure 18 and Table 2, registrations were concentrated in coastal LGA’s within South East Queensland; especially Gold Coast City (11.4% of S1 registrations in Queensland), Brisbane (10.7%), Moreton Bay (8.3%), Sunshine Coast (7.7%) and Redland (4.6%). If Logan (4.6% of all S1 registrations) and Ipswich (2.2% of all S1 registrations) are included, 49.5% of all S1 recreational vessel registrations were in South East Queensland at that time.
Figure 18: Number of S1 recreational vessel registrations in Queensland's key local authorities for boating activity.
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Table 2: S1 recreational vessel registrations in leading Queensland LGA's from June 2009 to June 2011.
Jun-09
Jun-10
Jun-11
% of total reg’s (2010)
Gold Coast CC
26,431
26,738
26,907
11.4%
11.4%
11.4%
0.6%
1.3%
100.0%
Moreton Bay RC
19,076
19,521
19,743
8.4%
8.3%
19.7%
1.1%
2.1%
95.6%
Sunshine Coast RC
17,967
18,362
18,350
7.9%
7.7%
27.4%
-0.1%
1.6%
95.5%
Brisbane City South
13,845
13,876
13,851
5.9%
5.8%
33.3%
-0.2%
0.3%
91.0%
Mackay RC
12,050
12,333
12,655
5.3%
5.3%
38.6%
2.5%
2.5%
96.4%
Townsville CC
11,735
12,020
12,313
5.1%
5.2%
43.8%
2.4%
2.8%
96.2%
Brisbane City North
11,318
11,417
11,400
4.9%
4.8%
48.6%
-0.1%
0.8%
92.5%
Logan CC
10,302
10,719
10,946
4.6%
4.6%
53.2%
2.1%
2.9%
96.3%
Redland CC
10,536
10,761
10,852
4.6%
4.6%
57.8%
0.8%
1.8%
91.3%
Cairns RC
10,586
10,691
10,840
4.6%
4.6%
62.4%
1.4%
2.0%
94.5%
Fraser Coast RC
9,307
9,491
9,476
4.1%
4.0%
66.4%
-0.2%
1.5%
95.2%
Bundaberg RC
8,379
8,500
8,587
3.6%
3.6%
70.0%
1.0%
2.1%
97.2%
Rockhampton RC
7,965
8,185
8,432
3.5%
3.6%
73.5%
2.9%
3.1%
94.9%
Gladstone RC
6,917
7,053
7,246
3.0%
3.1%
76.6%
2.7%
2.8%
96.0%
Ipswich CC
4,992
5,136
5,287
2.2%
2.2%
78.8%
2.9%
3.9%
98.0%
Whitsunday RC
5,163
5,228
5,280
2.2%
2.2%
81.1%
1.0%
1.9%
90.3%
42,300
43,523
44,901
18.6%
18.9%
100.0%
3.1%
3.2%
228,869
233,554
237,066
100.0%
100.0%
1.5%
2.1%
Other TOTAL REGISTRATIONS
% of total reg’s (2011)
Cum. %
Annual growth for past period
Average compnd growth
% <=8M
99.2%
SUMMARY OF GOLD COAST RESEARCH A 2011 survey of business owner-operators on the Gold Coast (Blackman and Hurd 2011) indicated that the Gold Coast Marine Industry contracted sharply in 2010-2011 on top of a moderate contraction the previous year. One indication that the industry continued to restructure in terms of size and efficiency was found in an analysis of industry size. Given 646 identified businesses in the industry (16.0% less than 769 in 2009 and 12.7% less than 740 in 2010) and median annual revenue per business of $650 thousand (cf $800 thousand in 2009-2010), estimated annual revenue for the industry of $419.9 million was down 29.1% from the estimate of $592.0 million in 2009-2010 and 57.4% lower than the estimate of $985.5 million in 2008-2009. The estimated number of FTE employees was also down; from 4,541 in 2009 to 3,422 in 2010 to 2,349 in 2011. In addition, slightly less than a quarter of the Coast’s Marine businesses reduced or expected to reduce staff in 2010-2011, although 63.0% had kept staff levels unchanged and 12.6% increased staff in that period. Respondent Marine businesses from the Gold Coast had a median age of 14.5 years in 2011 and 60.0% were private companies. Just more than eight in ten (83.3%) had their head office on the Gold Coast, while 11.7% reported that a residential address was used and 8.3% reported that they worked mostly as a sub-contractor. Consistent with 2010 findings, the most common business classifications were Manufacturing, Retail Trade, Other Services and Wholesale Trade. Other core activities of significance included marine products, boat fittings, boat manufacturing, marine repairs and marine sales. Largest employers by median number of fulltime equivalent employees were in Public Administration and Safety, Accommodation & Food Services, Wholesale Trade and Manufacturing.
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Approximately a third of Gold Coast Marine businesses disclosed their trading revenue for the two years and so findings related to revenue should be treated with caution. However, although disclosure of 2009-2010 and anticipated trading revenue for 2010-2011 was low, two thirds of respondents reported changes in revenue. Of those, 37.8% predicted no change, while revenue was anticipated to increase for 36.7% and to decrease for 25.6% of Marine businesses. The proportion predicting an increase was lower in 2009, 2010 and 2011 than in 2008. Compared to 2008, this was matched by a significantly higher proportion in 2009 and 2010 who predicted a decrease in revenue and a higher proportion who predicted that the revenue of their business would be unchanged. There was also a notable trend over the four years showing a decrease in the proportion of respondents who reported an increase in personal income. The other significant finding was a trend showing a continuing increase in the proportion who reported a decrease in personal income of less than twenty percent. Notwithstanding, almost half of respondents (45.6%) were either mostly satisfied or very satisfied with the overall achievement of their business, while 19.6% (cf 10.6% in 2010) reported being not satisfied. Several opportunities for business growth were identified by respondents included exporting, expanding the existing business, internet sales, economic improvement and increasing the range of services/products offered. The major source of competition continued to be from within Queensland; in particular from the Gold Coast and an analysis of industry structure indicated that the Gold Coast Marine Industry continues to have, at least in part, hypercompetition characterised by low customer loyalty, low switching costs and cutthroat pricing; although this is moderated to some extent by the high cost of entering the industry, low operating costs and, for some, a comparatively low cost of market exit. As reported previously (Blackman and Hurd 2010), there has been almost universal acceptance of the internet as a business tool for Gold Coast Marine Industry businesses, with 94.2% reporting that they used the internet every day in their business. Almost all of those had a broadband connection and 52.2% indicated that they expected to make purchases online in the financial year 2010-2011, while 49.1% expected to derive some revenue from online sales in that year. In terms of export activity, one in ten Marine businesses reported that they derived trading revenue from overseas in 2010-2011 and in 2011-2012, 13.3% of businesses were planning to export; a small predicted increase of 3.3% in the proportion of businesses exporting. Most predicted export destinations for 2011-2012 were New Zealand/Pacific Region, North Asia/Japan, South East Asia, North America and Europe.
INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISION AND MANAGEMENT OF RECREATIONAL MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE Recreational marine infrastructure in Queensland is provided by a mix of local government authorities, Queensland Transport and private developers and managed by Queensland Transport and local authorities. Queensland Transport provides funding for facilities such as boat ramps and pontoons, while managing local government and port authorities carry responsibility for providing land-based infrastructure, such as car parks. Local managing authorities are responsible for funding and maintaining ancillary facilities, such as car and trailer parking, lighting and amenities blocks, general day-to-day maintenance of the water-based facility, such as boat ramps, limiting usage of facilities to genuine recreational boaties and to authorised users where five tonne load limits are not exceeded, and maintaining the public marine facilities in good condition, to a standard appropriate to its use (QT 2008).
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Queensland Transport continued to invest in recreational marine infrastructure across the State. The following projects were either completed or are close to completion in 2011:
SOUTH-EAST QUEENSLAND PROJECTS 2011 •South Channel, Gold Coast Broadwater – maintenance dredging •North Channel, Gold Coast Broadwater – maintenance dredging •Cavill Avenue – new pontoon •West Crab Island Channel – maintenance dredging •Manly Boat Harbour – new community sports pontoon, to assist disabled persons to go boating •One Mile, Dunwich – new dual-level, multi-use pontoon •Burpengary – reconstruction of the Uhlmann Road boat ramp •Cabbage Tree Point – ramp rebuild, project delivered by Gold Coast City Council •Mooloolah River entrance – dredging and beach nourishment, joint project with Sunshine Coast Regional Council •Jock Kennedy Park – Russell Island boat ramp •Wellington Point Queuing beach – to be located between the south boat ramp and the jetty •Murlong Crescent – new floating walkway •Paradise Point – new floating walkway •Gold Coast Seaway entrance – dredging, a joint initiative by the Gold Coast Waterways Steering Committee •Jacobs Well Channel – dredging, a joint initiative by the Gold Coast Waterways Steering Committee •Port Drive Whyte Island – new pontoon •Maroochydore Cod Hole – new floating walkway •Beachmere, Saint Smith Road – new floating walkway •Bellara, Bribie Island – new floating walkway
SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND PROJECTS •River Heads (Bingham), Hervey Bay – rebuild of single lane boat ramp •Burrum Heads – upgrade to Burrum Heads Road boat ramp •Kalkie, east of Bundaberg – new two lane boat ramp located on the Burnett River •Riverview, Bundaberg) - new pontoon, delivered by Bundaberg Regional Council
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•Branyan, Sandy Hook Park (Burnett River) – new two lane boat ramp •Riverview, Bundaberg – rebuild of two lane boat ramp •Bundaberg, Queen Street – new floating walkway •Buxton, Power Street – new pontoon
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND PROJECTS •Rosslyn Bay, Anchor Drive – rebuild of four lane boat ramp and new floating walkway •Town of 1770 – widening of boat ramp to three lanes •Freshwater Point, Sarina – new single lane boat ramp
NORTHERN QUEENSLAND PROJECTS •Engineer’s Jetty, Thursday Island – new multi-use pontoon •Marina Plains, Annie River – new single lane boat ramp •Flying Fish Point – rebuild of single lane boat ramp •Townsville Railway Estate, Barnicle Street – new two lane boat ramp and floating walkway style pontoon located upstream from the existing ramp •Mourilyan Boat Harbour – new three lane boat ramp, pontoon and breakwater •Starcke River – new single lane boat ramp
BOAT RAMPS The exact number of public boat ramps in Queensland is not recorded. Best publically available data listed by Marine Safety Queensland (MSQ) in December 2011 suggest that there were at least 393 (cf 354 in November 2010) public boat ramps. Although MSQ provides and owns the bulk of public boat ramps in the State, boat launching ramps, jetties and pontoon facilities throughout Queensland are managed and maintained by local authorities or, in some cases, water management authorities. MSQ’s listing understates the true number as some facilities are owned by local authorities and private entities and do not appear on MSQ’s list (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Waterways/Boating-infrastructure/Boating-facilities.aspx, accessed 23 Dec 11). Figure 19 and Table 4 show the location of ramps contrasted against the number of vessel registrations for those locations with the greatest number of registrations. There is a moderate relationship (r=.64) between the concentrations of boat ramps and vessel registrations. Nevertheless, as Figure 19 clearly shows, there is some disconnect between the concentration of boat registrations and the location of boat ramps, with half of the shires having proportionally few ramps given the number of vessels registered in those areas and 37.5% (6) having proportionally more ramps than boat registrations. In particular, South East Queensland accounts for 49.5% of all S1 recreational vessel registrations, but is serviced by just 36.4% of the State’s boat ramps.
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Figure 19: Public boat ramp locations compared to September 2011 vessel registrations.
Table 3: Public boat ramp locations compared to September 2011 vessel registration.
Location
Number of ramps
Proportion of total ramps
Proportion of vessel registrations
Gold Coast City Council
30
7.6%
11.4%
Moreton Bay Regional Council
33
8.4%
8.3%
Sunshine Coast Regional Council
35
8.9%
7.7%
6
1.5%
5.8%
Mackay Regional Council
12
3.1%
5.3%
Townsville City Council
20
5.1%
5.2%
Brisbane City North
9
2.3%
4.8%
Redland City Council
13
3.3%
4.6%
Cairns Regional Council
12
3.1%
4.6%
Logan City Council
11
2.8%
4.6%
Fraser Coast Regional Council
19
4.8%
4.0%
Bundaberg Regional Council
15
3.8%
3.6%
Rockhampton Regional Council
20
5.1%
3.6%
Gladstone Regional Council
16
4.1%
3.1%
Whitsunday Regional Council
20
5.1%
2.2%
6
1.5%
2.2%
277
70.5%
Brisbane City South
Ipswich City Council Total
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MARINAS In our 2010 Annual Report, we reported that the Marina Industries Association (MIA) of Australia listed 135 public marinas throughout Australia on its website at that time. While that figure was correct at the time, the Australian Marinas Guide (http://www.maps.redlid.com.au/marinas/map-n.htm, accessed 21 Dec 11) indicates that there are many more marinas in Australia than the MIA’s listing suggests. This disparity appears to be because MIA’s list contains only its members and is not a comprehensive list of marinas. Drawing from the Australian Marinas Guide’s data, (http://www.marinasguide.com.au/listings.htm, accessed 24 Dec 11), Figure 20 indicates that capacity for investment in the marina sector exists in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.
Figure 20: Percentage of recreational vessel registrations compared to the proportion of marinas in each State in September 2011.
Given that current trends in recreational vessel numbers continue over the next five years, an additional 21 marinas will be required Australia-wide by 2016. The policy development process reported in previous reports for the marina sector continued to evolve in 2011, albeit at a slower pace than the industry would have liked. This year the industry developed a Commercial Marinas Framework and Action Plan. The framework sets out the industry policy position on the development and refurbishment of marinas in the State. It is expected that this issue will remain a high priority for the industry until satisfactorily resolved.
BOAT SAFETY, LICENSING AND USAGE SAFETY As Table 5 shows, in 2010 there were 782 marine incidents in Queensland. Of those, 45 (5.8%) resulted either in a fatality (14; 1.8%) or serious injury (31; 4.0%) (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/~/media/e2a020dc-4a38-40a7-
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8f3e-5668917c7191/reported_marine_incidents.pdf, accessed 23 Dec 11). The most common types of incident were collisions, capsizing and groundings. Table 4: Reported marine incidents in Queensland by calendar year. (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/~/media/e2a020dc-4a38-40a7-8f3e-5668917c7191/reported_marine_incidents.pdf, accessed 23 Dec 11).
2007
2008
2009
2010
770
754
772
782
2011 to 29-Nov 741
Fatal marine incidents
10
8
14
14
9
Fatalities
15
8
20
14
11
Serious injury marine incidents
35
29
28
29
36
Serious injuries
40
37
29
31
45
727
717
730
739
693
Marine incidents
Non-fatal and non-serious injury incidents
MSQ also reports the number and type of maritime infringement notices and warnings issued. Table 6 summarises the type of infringement notices and warnings issued to Queensland recreational vessel operators in Queensland from 2008 to 2011: Table 5: Infringement notices issued to vessel operators in Queensland, July to September 2011. (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/About-us/Rti-msq-main/Published-information/Lists-and-registers/Min-prosecution.aspx, accessed 23 Dec 2011).
Speed
Unlicensed
No registration
Safety equipment
Navigation lights
12
22
29
187
Gold Coast
102
20
20
Gladstone
10
8
Mackay
4
Townsville Cairns
Brisbane
Total
Other
12
No registration label/number 11
Total
Cautions
21
294
87
45
2
20
18
227
49
10
60
3
28
2
120
14
3
4
15
4
19
7
55
16
7
6
13
30
0
13
5
74
16
2
3
9
17
2
6
1
40
20
137
62
85
354
23
97
54
810
202
LICENSING The demand for recreational boat licenses within the Queensland community continues to grow. In the five years from September 2006 to September 2011, the total number of recreational marine drivers licence holders increased by 26.1%. However, for the same period the number of Personal Watercraft licences soared by 127.3%. A summary of the growth of recreational boat licenses from September 2006 to September 2011 is shown in Table 7.
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Table 6: Summary of recreational marine licence holders, Queensland, by licence type and month. (http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/~/media/b8dbe198-00b8-4e54-877e-11a2ea49b277/pdf_recreational_licences.pdf accessed 24 Dec 11)
Month and Year
September 2007 September 2008 September 2009 September 2010 September 2011
Recreational Marine Drivers License 543,485 564,565 584,658 602,704 618,029
Personal Watercraft License
Total Recreational Licenses
47,239 56,483 67,553 79,540 90,475
590,515 620,816 651,939 681,940 708,177
USAGE With strong rates of population growth in Queensland many assumptions about traditional marine infrastructure, such as marinas, are now changing. Traditionally, many in the community viewed marinas as places to park or berth boats for the convenience of local boat owners. However with changing community attitudes towards marine environments, there is a significant increase in interest in visiting our tropical waters and their abundant natural attractions. As a result, marina facilities are increasingly becoming destinations in their own right â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both from the water and the land. These increased pressures have resulted in world leading environmental management practices being developed by many marina developers and operators. Some leading measures that have/are being developed include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Development of managed buffer zones (including upstream catchments) to manage the potential environmental impact of increased numbers of visitors to these waterways both by sea and land; Management of offshore moorings by marinas to minimize the impact in boating waterways; The development of sailing routes that respect sensitive marine environments; In some cases, the use of marine pilot services with specialist geographic and environmental knowledge; and Community education and awareness programs on environmental practices and boat usage procedures.
The success of many of these measures can be directly related to engaging local communities to access local expertise and knowledge of local environments and, together with the development of community based environmental stewardship, is delivering real environmental protection and awareness without negatively impacting on the economic and social sustainability of local communities. Many of these initiatives have emanated from communities with an active interest in marine environments and sustainability at the local level. With appropriate support by governments of this decentralised model, a truly sustainable approach to environmental management and regional sustainability is emerging.
MARINE INDUSTRY CHALLENGES Key challenges facing the Queensland and Australian recreational marine industry in December 2011 include: ď&#x201A;ˇ ď&#x201A;ˇ
continued worldwide economic uncertainty causing low levels of consumer confidence and reduced levels of demand, particularly in parts of Australia, and in the USA and the EU; banks continue to be less willing than previously to lend;
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a strong Australian dollar reducing competitiveness of local marine boat and component manufacturers and their retailers; a dramatic increase in grey and parallel imports to the Australian market; continued instability in equity and commodity markets; infrastructure shortages restricting future growth; reduced levels of consumer disposable income; emerging skills shortages due to a loss of skills during the industry’s contraction and increasing employment demands of the mining sector; emerging industrial relations instability; increasing environment management costs; Increased uncertainty and reduced access to fishing areas as a result of restrictive marine park management practices; Continued political uncertainty in Australia due minority government at a Federal level and pending state and local government elections in Queensland.
MARINE INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES Despite continued global economic uncertainty, a number of opportunities exist for the industry and for those marine businesses with capability and capacity. Those opportunities include:
Increasing participation rates in marine based recreation within local communities – encompassing waterways right across the State; Building stronger cross industry linkages, particularly into high performing sectors of the State economy; Fostering innovation across all sectors of the industry; Building stronger industry links into schools and public health initiatives as a means of encouraging community health and fostering greater understanding of marine environments.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Recreational vessel registrations in Queensland accounted for almost three in ten of the nation’s total registrations in 2011 and the industry is an important contributor to Queensland’s and Australia’s economy. Government support is now needed to facilitate the redevelopment of skills, encourage the growth of intellectual property that enhances industry competitiveness, build additional infrastructure, especially boat ramps for vessels up to 8 meters, encourage investment in marinas and roll out co-management models for the governance of infrastructure, marine parks and fisheries across the State. Further research is needed to track Marine Industry business performance state-wide, to benchmark Queensland’s industry against those interstate and overseas, to develop a clear profile of recreational boat owners and their boating activities and to identify state, national and international trends in recreational boating.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY ABS (2011) 3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics. Jun 2011.
Blackman, A. J. and A. R. Hurd (2010). Gold Coast Key Industries business performance: Marine Industry. Gold Coast Key Industries. Gold Coast, Gold Coast City Council.
Blackman, A. J. and A. R. Hurd (2011). Gold Coast City's Key Industries. Gold Coast, Gold Coast City Council.
Curthoys, A. (2011). Growth Management Queensland - Queensland Industry Advisory Group. Brisbane, Queensland Government.
QT (2008). Recreational boating infrastructure. Q. Transport. Brisbane.
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USEFUL WEBSITES New South Wales NSW Maritime http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/ Victoria Marine Safety Victoria http://www.marinesafety.vic.gov.au/ Queensland Department of Transport http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/ South Australia Safety Operations and Registration http://www.transport.sa.gov.au Western Australia Department for Planning and Infrastructure http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/ Tasmania Marine and Safety Tasmania http://www.mast.tas.gov.au/ Northern Territory Department of Infrastructure, Panning and Environment http://www.ipe.nt.gov.au/ Access to Australian Government Information and Services http://www.australia.gov.au/ (Links to Commonwealth, State and Territory government sites) Marina Industries Association of Australia http://www.marinas.net.au/
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alan Blackman is currently Acting MBA Director and Senior Lecturer in Griffith Business School and has taught Business Strategy as part of the School’s MBA program since 1993. A Churchill Fellow, Alan earned Master of Business Administration and Master of Law degrees from Bond University in 1991 and a PhD from Griffith University in 2003. His research has included a scoping study into the information technology and communications industry in the Gold Coast region (1998), a determination of the structure of the multimedia industry in SEQ (1999), a determination of the most suitable model for a sustainable economic community based on information technology and communications industries (2001), a study of entrepreneurs and the impact of their characteristics and values on the performance of their businesses (2003), and a series of studies of strategically important industry sectors in Gold Coast City (2000-2004, 2006-2011). In 2010 Alan received the prestigious “Queensland Sport’s Volunteer of the Year Award” for his services to cricket and on Australia Day 2011 he was chosen as Scenic Rim Region’s “Citizen of the Year”.
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FUTURE INDUSTRY RESEARCH REQUEST FORM The Marine Industry Annual Report will be an annual report. However, your feedback will assist us to ensure that it meets your needs in the future. We ask that you take a moment to give us your feedback. Please fax your completed form to Don Jones at Marine Queensland.
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NOTES
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Gateway Office Park, Building 3, 747 Lytton Road, Murarrie Queensland 4172 PO Box 3305, Tingalpa DC, Queensland 4173 Ph:3390 4657 Fax: 3390 4962 www.marineqld.com.au
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