THE NSW government has postponed plans for a Yarra Bay cruise ship terminal for up to 18 months due to the COVID-19 crisis.
NSW Transport and Ports Minister Andrew Constance said the proposal for a cruise terminal at Yarra Bay had now been “put on hold with all industry and community engagement suspended”.
The Yarra Bay cruise ship terminal is controversial with many federal and state politicians, local residents and recreational fishers opposed to the $500 million terminal.
The share prices of Royal Caribbean and the world’s two other largest cruise lines, Carnival and Norwegian, have plunged more than 70 per cent since the start of the year.
Federal Labor MP for Kingsford Smith, Matt Thistlethwaite, said the state of the cruise industry further undermined the case for a cruise terminal at Yarra Bay.
“The economic case was marginal at best but it’s now in tatters. The government should just drop it,” Thistlethwaite said.
