Update
Michael Daley has promised there will be no cruise ship terminal at Yarra Bay, within Botany Bay, if Labor wins the state election in March.
The newly-elected Labor leader gave the “solemn promise” to about 100 protesters outside State Parliament.
“Of all the dumb and stupid and ill-conceived ideas that this government has come up with...this has to be the dumbest,” he said.
Mr Daley said the proposal didn’t “stack up” on economic or environmental grounds, failed heritage concerns and the Aboriginal community and was unwanted by the cruise ship industry.
He said the only supporter of the idea he had found was one cruise ship company.
Earlier
A protest rally against the mega cruise ship terminal proposed for Yarra Bay in Botany Bay will held outside Parliament House tomorrow morning.
The protest will take place before a crucial parliamentary debate on the issue.
Save the Bay Coalition, local elected representatives and the local indigenous community will gather outside Parliament House in a protest before NSW MPs Michael Daley and Ron Hoenig lead a parliamentary debate, triggered by a 10,000-signature petition.
NSW MP David Shoebridge MLC will also be addressing the protest and presenting a motion in Parliament opposing the development.
“The community is tired of the overdevelopment of Botany Bay. People realise that they have fight to save what is left,” Save the Bay Coalition spokesperson Maria Poulos said.
“Our movement is growing daily. People are sick of the loss of public space just to cater to the needs of commercial interests. First it was the airport, then the port expansion, now it is mega cruise ships,” she said.
“We know that the Government is consulting with the Cruise industry as it develops its Strategic Business Case for a new cruise terminal in Yarra Bay–- yet the community has been completely excluded.
“We have been unable to get any information at all on the proposal even though we now there are at least 140 secret documents. It is a clear message from the NSW government that communities don’t matter.”
“On November 21 we intend to send a strong message back to the NSW Government that this venture has got to stop,” Ms Poulos said..
“Our community has spoken loud and clear — we do not want a massive cruise terminal in Yarra Bay,” NSW Opposition leader Michael Daley said at a recent community forum.
“I’ve never seen a local petition receive such a strong response. This is an unequivocal message from locals that this cruise ship proposal is dead on arrival”.
The area around La Perouse and Yarra Bay is highly significant for the Aboriginal community with many able to trace their roots back hundreds, even thousands of years.
“This would be the final insult,” said Trevor Walker, La Perouse community member, and founder of the Moringa Aquaculture Aboriginal Corporation.
“It is not just the loss of the land and the water we have lived on for over 7000 years, but the erosion of our culture and of our children’s right to engage in cultural practices which inevitably affects their future.
“We have fought hard to get cultural fishing rights. Ceasing fishing and gathering practices will impact directly on the wellbeing of the community and will stop these newly re-introduced cultural practices forever,” Mr Walker said.
“For 100 years Yarra Bay and La Perouse have been used for recreation. In summer thousands of people come to enjoy the calm and protected beaches, these people are not just locals but people who come from all over Sydney due to the easy access from the M5 and Eastern Distributor. According to an Energy Australia study, in summer 7500 people per day can come to La Perouse.
“All around me people are questioning whether commercial interests should take precedence over the quality of life of tens of thousands of Sydneysiders.”
People realise that the cruise ship terminal will be paid for with taxpayer money, their money, and this issue is making people question whether their Government is really working for them, Ms Poulos said.
Protestors will meet outside Parliament Hosue tomorrow morning from 9am.
