Circular Quay revamp on the backburner again

A decade ago, then premier Mike Baird promised to sell $200 million worth of government-owned hotel and office buildings on Sydney Harbour to fund the redevelopment of the ferry wharves at Circular Quay. “It’s run down and not befitting of the greatest city in the world,” he said.

Baird sold the buildings but spent pretty much zilch on Circular Quay. Years passed and the revamp continued to swing in the breeze. Labor promised to dump the Coalition redesign and made a $716 million upgrade of the ferry wharves and promenade a key 2023 election commitment, only to scale back the project when it won power.

The Herald’s transport and infrastructure editor Matt O’Sullivan reports the long-promised upgrade is stalled again due to the Minns government quietly deferring extra funding for the project despite fears being raised for years about the wharves and promenade reaching the end of their working lives.

The latest state budget has dropped references to the quay upgrade after the previous year’s detailed a “commitment to upgrading the promenade and ferry wharves” and $335 million in funding over four years to 2026-27. Until June last year, some $171 million was estimated to have been spent on the project, which was primarily for planning.

As we have said before, Circular Quay is Sydney’s local infrastructure production of Waiting for Godot. There have always been dreams, grand visions and a plethora of plans, reports, artists’ impressions, concepts and competitions, but nothing seems to come to fruition.

Circular Quay is also looming as a public health hazard, the Maritime Union of Australia and consumer group Action for Public Transport warning that the infrastructure is at the end of its working life. The promenade’s supports are so weakened that vehicles over two tonnes are banned, and the wharves do not comply with accessibility standards.

“The wharves are ageing. They are in need of repair and refreshing to the point of replacement. There are known safety risks on the wharves going back a few years,” union deputy secretary Paul Garrett said. “The MUA is concerned that at some stage a wharf will collapse and staff and passengers will be injured. Good fortune lasts only for so long.”

The busiest tourist location in Australia is close to the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge and, with a multitude of ferry trips available, Infrastructure Australia estimated it attracts 11.2 million domestic and five million international visitors. But, in addition to ageing and risk factors, the amenity is poor and public spaces are disjointed and managed by multiple parties.

Transport Minister John Graham said in contrast to the Minns government’s efforts, previous governments had made “grandiose promises” but did not do the hard work.

Our gateway has not had a major overhaul since the 1988 bicentenary celebrations, and that sort of blame-shifting does not wash. Unsafe and decrepit, Circular Quay is dirty and unpleasant. Labor is approaching three years in power and its inertia in putting our best face to the world is lamentable.

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