BY GARY-JON LYSAGHT
Newcastle commercial fisherman have breathed a sigh of relief after Roads and Maritime Services agreed to refurbish the Stockton boat harbour.
Newcastle commercial fisherman have breathed a sigh of relief after Roads and Maritime Services agreed to refurbish the Stockton boat harbour.
The announcement follows concerns the centre would be
privatised by the State Government, or even closed.
The centre is in a rather battered condition, with repair
costs expected to soar into the millions.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp has agreement to keep the
harbour in public hands is a real win for local fishers.
“In light of the contamination issues at Williamtown as well
as the licensing changes that are really detrimental to fishers, it’s great
news,” he said.
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| Tim Crakanthorp |
“You’ve got professional fishermen and recreational fishermen
that use that boat harbour. It will stay
open now as opposed to closing or being privatised.”
Even though RMS has agreed to keep the site open and public, it will be
a long time before the centre is at its former glory, with large-scale
renovation on the way.
“There are lots of temporary walkways around it, there are
real work and safety issues as well as the need for significant dredging,”
Crakanthorp said.
“It’ll need quite a few million dollars to fix this harbour
and it’s good to see the Government’s finally going to stump up.”
“I hope that now the Government has seen sense in letting
the Stockton fishers keep their harbour, they will take another look at the commercial
fishing reforms. These fishers have
suffered through enough.”
