KAMAY FERRY WHARF APPROVED

from Eastern Suburbs Life - September 2022 - Edition 45

Member for Coogee

SOUTHEAST EASTERN SUBURBS VOICE

• BOTANY • CHIFLEY • CLOVELLY • COOGEE • EASTGARDENS • EASTLAKES • HILLSDALE • KENSINGTON • KINGSFORD • • LA PEROUSE • LITTLE BAY • MALABAR • MAROUBRA • MASCOT • MATRAVILLE • PAGEWOOD • RANDWICK • ROSEBERY • ZETLAND •

KAMAY FERRY WHARF APPROVED

La Perouse residents remain anxious following NSW Minister for Planning, Anthony Roberts’ controversial decision to approve the Kamay Ferry Wharf.

Roberts approved the proposed state significant structure on July 21, leading to a flurry of social media activity. Community groups on social media sites such as Facebook, post weekly encouraging residents and users of Kamay National Park in La Perouse to write to Tanya Plibersek, Minister for Environment and Water. a significant change from the old 25 metre wharf.

The ferry is expected to shorten the current 90-minute road journey, to 20 minutes, and boasts of other benefits to the local community.

The surrounding Kamay Botany Bay National Park will also be improved with walking and cycling routes, as well as improved access and facilities for recreational vessels. The areas revitalisation will provide immense socioeconomic opportunities as a result of increased tourism to the area in hospitality and commercial maritime services.

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, the project still requires Plibersek’s approval due to its impact on four marine threatened species.

The $49.3 million project proposes the re-construction of a ferry wharf between La Perouse and Kurnell. A ferry service first operated between La Perouse and Kurnell from the 1890s, but ceased in 1974 after severe storms damaged the wharves. The wharves are projected to be 230 metres long in La Perouse and 250 metres in Kurnell, The NSW Government is working with the Gujaga Foundation, to ensure First Nations peoples are effectively engaged in the development process, as La Perouse is home to one of urban Sydney’s most densely populated Indigenous communities. The ferry is said to provide better access to the Kurnell Precinct to support a cultural meeting place for the First Nations community.

However, residents and other stakeholders are concerned with the irreversible damage to the marine environment to threatened species such as the Posidonia australis seagrass, White’s Seahorse and Black Rockcod. Residents are also concerned about increased traffic congestion in the area and limited parking, as the suburb is only serviced by a single lane road. More than 118 submissions have been received from local residents, water sports enthusiasts, among other users, objecting its development. One submission commented that the plan was “ludicrous.”

It is hoped that Randwick Council’s unanimous decision calling for these environmental impacts to be reviewed, that Minister for Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, will have no choice but to intervene.