Harbour cash-in

Jessica Benton
AN INFLUX of wealthy boaties has demonstrated the worth of Queenscliff’s $35 million redeveloped harbour, according to the company behind the project.
Queenscliff Harbour’s Jeni Coutts said residents who were complaining about the redevelopment should recognise it was a financial windfall for the town.
“The harbour was booked out over Easter, with Boating Victoria booking more than 30 berths for its members for the three days over the Easter break,” she said.
“The 70 people on board these boats took in Queenscliff’s sights, activities, restaurants and attractions including the legendary Blues Train.
“This is a large amount of people that would not have normally come to Queenscliff.”
Ms Coutts estimated each visitor would have spent on average $200 a day.
But Borough of Queenscliffe Mayor Bob Merriman said the visitors using the harbour must not jeopardise the access of local users.
“Easter has always been a busy time for the harbour and there’s no doubt that the new harbour is attracting additional people from Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay,” he said.
“We welcome these people but we don’t want to see that it happens at the expense of the locals, the commercial businesses and the people who have been at the harbour for yonks.
“We’re quite happy to have thousands of people come to Queenscliff providing we get a decent deal for the other people that keep the harbour going for the other 10 months of the year.”
Work on the multi-million-dollar redevelopment is due for completion before Christmas. The project includes waterfront restaurants, shops, a promenade, a navigation tower and extra berthing facilities.
Existing users have criticised State Government of “selling out to a private monopoly”.
Berth-holders are angry about fee increases of up to 800 per cent after 2011 when a fees moratorium expires.
The Independent revealed the price rises in 2007 when the paper reported that recreational boaters could pay nearly $13,000 a year for wet berths or $220,000 for 17-year leases.
But Ms Coutts said Queenscliff Harbour had never intended to price out existing users.
“We recognised that pricing would be an issue for some, so we presented existing berth holders with a range of berthing options that would mean they could remain in the harbour.”