Ferries Need New Crew
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday July 12, 2007
THE State Labor Government treats Sydney Ferries like a heritage attraction rather than a transport provider. It seems to like the idea of boats decorating the harbour, but is uninterested in coming up with the money and ideas necessary to modernise the service and keep it relevant to passengers. Important aspects of the organisation, including industrial practices and some of its wharves and its fleet, ought to be in a museum.
Maybe this neglect is understandable, given the predominantly non-Labor destinations where most boats leaving Circular Quay are headed. But it is not forgivable, especially in light of the fatal accidents of the past year, and the Government appears to realise this. In April it set up the Special Commission of Inquiry into Sydney Ferries. Commissioner Brett Walker, SC, is due to report by the end of next month on the service's management, operations, industrial practices and regulatory and governance arrangements. The range of the inquiry reflects the extraordinary range of the problems. Indeed, it is intriguing to observe just how comprehensively the ferry service seems to have escaped most of the public sector reforms of the past two decades. The Chamber of Commerce has called for the service to be privatised, and the Premier, Morris Iemma, did not rule this out when announcing the inquiry. The chamber is not the only critic to have pointed to profitable improvements that should have been introduced years ago. A private owner might well renew the ageing fleet and provide management dynamism and stability for a service that has had 12 chief executives in 15 years. However, it seems to us many Sydneysiders would be reluctant to see the iconic ferries pass into private hands. Economic rationalists might disapprove, but there is a lot of affection for the ferries and their tradition of public ownership. An alternative would be to keep the fleet and wharves in public hands but put their management out to tender. This could solve the problems of antiquated work practices and leadership lethargy. It is an arrangement that has been successfully introduced to some public rail services in other parts of Australia. Whatever is decided, something major needs to be done. This is a harbour city, and it is embarrassing that the state of our ferry service is best symbolised by the remains of a recently collapsed wharf, protruding from the waves off Cremorne Point.
© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald