5718 - NEWCASTLE PORT RESTRICTIONS
Key details
- Asking member:
- Tim Crakanthorp
- Addressed to portfolio:
- Treasurer
- Minister responsible:
- Treasurer
- Asked on:
- Thu 06 May 2021
- Answer received on:
- Thu 10 June 2021
- Question published in:
- Question and Answers Paper No. 109
- Answer published in:
- Question and Answers Paper No. 115
Question
(1) Is the purpose of the penalty on container traffic at the Port of Newcastle to create a disincentive or obstacle to developing a container terminal?
(a) If not, what is the purpose of the penalty on container traffic at the Port of Newcastle?
(2) Can a container terminal at the Port of Newcastle be developed?
(3) What consideration has been given to the Prime Minister's view that a container terminal should be built at the Port of Newcastle?
Answer
Treasury has advised me as follows:
(1) This is a matter currently before the Courts. The Port Commitment Deed contains commercial arrangements between the Port of Newcastle and the State of New South Wales that were agreed as part of the State's transaction for the long-term lease of the Port of Newcastle in 2014. The State received $1.75 billion as a result of the transaction, which is helping to fund State infrastructure.
(2) We refer the Honourable Member to the current NSW Freight and Ports Plan as to the State's policy position on the development of additional container capacity in New South Wales. Any decision to build a container terminal at Newcastle is a matter for the private operator of the Port of Newcastle.
(3) The State's position in relation to the development of a container terminal at the Port of Newcastle is set out in the NSW Freight and Ports Plan.