4 days ago
Perth community divided over WA government's plans for Swan River ferries
As the WA government moves forward with its election commitment to run electric ferries on the Swan River, campaigners want the Matilda Bay terminal moved south.
A $107 million plan to expand Perth's ferry services is moving ahead, amid a campaign to move the terminal serving the University of Western Australia 1 kilometre south, to Jojo's restaurant near Pelican Point in Nedlands.
Dubbed "Metronet on the Swan" by Premier Roger Cook, five new electric ferries will run on the Swan River with two new stops to be built at Applecross and Matilda Bay in Crawley.
Sailing and recreation groups that use Matilda Bay say they are concerned a ferry terminal, with ferries arriving every 15 to 30 minutes, would pose a safety risk.
Megan Bagworth, spokeswoman for the group Safety on Swan, which represents a number of sailing, rowing, fishing and swimming clubs that use the bay, told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth having ferries passing through would be dangerous.
"When I first heard about the proposal about a ferry terminal in Matilda Bay, I spoke to clubs over in Sydney and Brisbane, to find out how can we adapt, how can we make this safe?" Ms Bagworth said.
"What I discovered is that there is nowhere in Australia that compares with the proximity of clubs, the volume of people, and the diversity and the vulnerability of the users of Matilda Bay."
She said the group did its own risk assessment, comparing five locations for the UWA terminal, and found the risk was lowest if the terminal was located at the Jojo's restaurant site.
This is about a 1km walk from the main UWA campus buildings.
"Jojo's is a really good strategic option for public transport because not only would it be the fastest route from Applecross to UWA, but it would also provide better access to QE2 [medical centre] and UWA's southern entrance because UWA is a big campus," she said.
Graham White, the founder of Sailability, a group that provides sailing classes for people with disabilities at Matilda Bay, said his organisation was also concerned about safety if ferries begin stopping at the bay.
"We would have to terminate our program because we just couldn't allow people with disabilities out in little dinghies to be interacting with large ferries," Mr White said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said there was strong public support for an expanded ferry service on the Swan River.
"The expansion of ferry services on the Swan River has been a long-held ambition for our State, and the plans to expand to Applecross and UWA represent an exciting new chapter in public transport for WA," the spokesperson said.
"The assessment of these sites is taking into consideration a range of criteria, including ease of access to UWA for students.
"The government understands change can be difficult, but we remain confident a new ferry service can operate safely in the area, alongside recreational users.
"There are numerous examples across Australia and the world where ferry services operate safely alongside recreational users, and there's no reason we cannot achieve the same outcomes here."
ABC Radio Perth listeners were divided on the issue, with some fiercely opposed to the Matilda Bay stop, others passionate supporters.
"I think this is a beat-up," caller Chris said.
"I think that we need a ferry system that services UWA, and I think anyone who's sceptical of this should just go down to Hillarys Boat Harbour on any day when they're sailing, and you'll see little kids in little boats co-existing with big ferries coming in and out of that boat harbour."
Caller Alan agreed.
But caller Barb shared the safety concerns.
"Jojo's is the safest location. It's not NIMBY-ism, the frequency and speeds proposed for the ferries means that the multiple training organisations can't share that area at the same time," she said.
"We want a ferry, just not inside Matilda Bay."
Caller Cam said Matilda Bay was the most beautiful part of the river.
"A huge, big jetty and charging station, then parking spots and bus bays, plus the shore damage would be such a shame."
Services on stage one of the plan, going to Matilda Bay and Applecross, are expected to commence by the end of 2027.
The government plans to build the electric ferries in WA.
They would operate every 15 to 30 minutes, with a top speed of 20 knots and the capacity to hold more than 130 passengers.
