Terms of Reference
A review is to be carried out into the capacity of Garden Island in Sydney to
accommodate increased numbers of visiting cruise ships. The review will assess
current and future Royal Australian Navy (RAN) requirements and whether there is
scope to enhance cruise ship access to Garden Island, noting its primary role of
support to the RAN's raise, train and sustain roles and functions and the timely
delivery of maritime operational capability.
The review is to examine:
- Outcomes from the New South
Wales Government-sponsored Passenger Cruise Terminal Steering
Committee Part B report on infrastructure requirements and
locations for a Cruise Passenger Terminal east of Sydney Harbour
Bridge;
- Current and future RAN
requirements for facilities at Garden Island to meet the
operational and maintenance needs of home-ported and visiting
RAN and allied naval ships;
- Future Defence Materiel
Organisation requirements and responsibilities for contracted
RAN ship repair and maintenance, including the continuing need
for Garden Island to be available for short notice emergency
Navy dockings;
- The suitability of existing
Garden Island facilities to support more regular cruise ship
visits during peak periods and with the degree of advanced
notice sought by the industry;
- The economic benefits of
enhanced cruise ship access to Sydney Harbour, and the economic
contribution of the ongoing Navy presence in Sydney;
- Options for alternative
berthing, maintenance and support arrangements for naval vessels
both within Sydney and other ports which might be required to
allow enhanced cruise ship access to Garden Island during peak
periods, with estimates of feasibility, costs and timeframes
involved;
- The costs, benefits and impact
of the cruise industry investing in purpose built facilities at
Garden Island to enable enhanced use of the island by cruise
ships;
- Changes to Defence risk profile
which would be caused by enhanced cruise ship access to Garden
Island, in terms of:
- Acquisition and
maintenance of naval ships;
- Personnel support;
- Security;
- Operational
readiness; and
- Commonwealth
financial and legal liability.
The review will be guided by the following:
- The Two Ocean Basing policy,
which will remain a central tenet of Navy basing and disposition
for Navy's larger ships, consistent with strategic guidance.
- The strategic basing principles
agreed by the Government as part of the 2009 Defence White Paper Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030.
- An understanding of the
technical complexity of major naval vessels, and how this might
determine the need for operational bases having ready access to
a broad industry base with specialised dockyard facilities and a
large labour force possessing trades and skills peculiar to
naval requirements.
- The impact of basing Navy ships
in major ports such as Sydney on Navy skilled workforce
retention.
The review will seek wide input from Commonwealth and State Governments,
Sydney and other Port Corporations, defence contractors in the ship repair
sector, cruise industry representatives, ports and shipping industry
representative bodies, the transport and tourism sectors, and the team appointed
by Government to undertake the broader Force Posture Review.
The review is to commence as soon as possible with a final report tabled to
the Minister for Defence by the end of December 2011.