Community Meeting About the Ferry Issue: the outcomes!
By Angela Hoskins
Context for this article is available in the first article about the ferry timetable issue.
There was a full house at the community hall on the afternoon of 10 August, 2024. Coochiemudlo Island residents were out in force, keen for a resolution to their ferry timetable issue.
Coochiemudlo Island Progress Association organized the community meeting. Elizabeth Rankin, president, chaired the meeting. Bob Dick was facilitator and moderator.
Stakeholders in attendance were Steve Wallace (owner operator of Amity Trader), Kim Richards MP (State Member for Redlands), and Lance Hewlett (Division 4 rep for Redlands City Council).
Information gathering
To inform the stakeholders and attendees, data was collated from a community survey and Facebook comments relating to residents’ concern about a cut to ferry services — important information gathering over the prior fortnight. This data, along with statistics about the island’s demographics, offered stakeholders a pretty good picture of the community’s concerns and why there is a need for Coochiemudlo Island to maintain the current level of ferry service provision.
What stakeholders said: the salient points
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Amity Trader’s current commercial service contract to provide the passenger ferry service for Coochiemudlo Island includes paying landing fees that have significantly increased over recent years. The result is that their business can’t stay afloat.
Amity Trader’s only income is from the passenger fares and vehicle barge fees. This income falls short of their significant overheads including landing fees. From time to time they charter a vehicle barge to help with cashflow (with potential impacts to the Coochiemudlo Island services).
RCC and TMR suggested that decreasing the number of ferry services could be an option to cut down his landing fee costs.
Amity Trader is committed to providing their water transport service to Coochiemudlo Island and their staff. However, a different type of service agreement or a government subsidy is needed for the business to be sustained.
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The state government transferred ownership and responsibility of ferry terminal infrastructure on the Redlands Coast to Redland City Council. Landing fees are required by RCC to manage long-term maintenance and depreciation of ferry terminals. Consultants were commissioned by RCC to help establish the landing fee charge for each terminal ‘touch’, per service. RCC will not be decreasing the landing fees.
Public transport is a state government responsibility. Every year, RCC has asked TMR in writing to assist with financial subsidies to offset the landing fees. Assistance from TMR has not arrived.
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On Thursday 8 August, two days before the community meeting, Kim met with Graeme Davis, Director of Transport (TMR), Steve Wallace, and Elizabeth Rankin to discuss these issues. TMR is ready to take action and assured those at the meeting that there would no impact to the ferry schedule.
The meeting on 8 August resolved that Amity Trader has the option to withdraw from their current, unviable contract. If Amity Trader withdraws, they can then apply for a 12-month emergency contract, on a different basis to the current one, to deliver the ferry service to Coochiemudlo Island.
TMR’s decisions were informed by the data collated from the survey results and Facebook comments. Kim described this information as ‘extraordinarily useful’.
Reported outcomes and acknowledgement from the Coochiemudlo Island Progress Association
On 12 August, Elizabeth Rankin published this statement and list of outcomes to the Coochie Community Facebook page.
The Coochiemudlo Island Progress Association would like to thank everyone who has supported our urgent efforts to advocate for a better and more equitable ferry system for the Coochie Community. As a direct result of countless discussions including phone calls, on-line meetings, surveys and chat groups, within two weeks significant outcomes have been achieved. Following two important face-to-face meetings with Translink and a public meeting with key stakeholders, key outcomes include:
1. There will be no change to the current ferry timetable.
2. Victoria Point will remain as the location that serves the island's transport access. Redland Bay will not be used.
3. Amity Trader have said that they will reject their current contract with state government. This contract expires at the end of 2024.
4. An emergency contract will be created for 2025 to ensure ferry services are maintained. Our current operator is invited to provide this service.
5. A more permanent contract will be created for 2026, where the ferry contract will then opened for tender applications.
6. Local government will carry out repairs to the ferry terminals. This will be followed up by our council representative.
7. There will be future consultations on transport issues, promoted by the State Government. This was promised by our local MP.
I would especially like to thank: Jose Garcia, Peter Wear, Adaire Palmer, Max Moran, Geoff Baccus, Jan MacIntyre for their guidance and assistance over the last two weeks.
Appreciation and thanks were extended to the stakeholders for attending meeting. Special thanks was extended from the attendees to the Progress Association for their leadership in organising the meeting and collating all the data.
