Council backs Save Ulmarra Ferry petition

A NSW Government proposal to close the Ulmarra to Southgate ferry service in June will be disastrous for farming and tourism industries say local councillors.

Clarence Valley Council voted unanimously to urge the NSW Government to rethink a proposal revealed late last month to close the ferry service on June 10 when the current vessel’s operating certificate ended.

Cr Steve Pickering brought the matter as a late item of business to last Tuesday’s council meeting, where council quickly accepted it as a late item.

“I would like to move if it’s permissible by my colleagues that the council number one, make the Save the Ulmarra Ferry petition available at the Grafton and Maclean Clarence Valley Council customer service counters for signing by concerned members of the community and to promote the petition petition’s availability through a media release and social media posts,” Cr Pickering said. He said closing the ferry service would affect people beyond the Clarence Valley.

“It’s a tourist attraction,” he said. “It’s used by people that commute from Casino down the Summerland Way from Kyogle, that come down to the Clarence Valley.

“It’s also used by emergency services families, farmers, tradies, families, school kids, all sorts of people use this ferry.

“A lot of people use it to get from the from the Ulmarra side of the river to the Grafton to go and access appointments of the Grafton Base Hospital.

“It’s a valuable piece of community infrastructure.”

He said the Ulmarra community had raised a petition and it was rapidly gaining signatures, with a target of 10,000, which would allow Member for Clarence Richie Williamson to present the petition to NSW Parliament in May.

The motion’s seconder,

Cr Debrah Novak, said this was another example of governments cutting services in the Clarence Valley and Lower Clarence.

“It’s concerning that it’s been done without consultation,” she said.

“My understanding is that while we have a huge number of local residents and tourists using the service because we do promote it as an active tourism activity, to cross on the ferry, which is quite lovely I might add.

“One of the big losers in this if the ferry is closed, is actually the sugar industry, because even though the cane trucks don’t use it, their buggies do.

“If they close that ferry service, what will happen is the buggies most likely will have to go on a truck and then they will have to go through Grafton.

“What it does, it adds on a cost to farmers that are already being screwed down for their price on their product. So it’s not fair.

“We have a state government that should be looking after its primary industries.

“It should be looking after its rural regional residents and it’s just not acceptable that they think it’s okay to take another service away from us.”