Proponents of a second Victorian container terminal on the Mornington Peninsula still have hope that their vision will one day become a reality.
But with the state Labor government eager to press ahead with leasing the Port of Melbourne and senior ministers saying a second port is many years away, people such as Mornington Peninsula Mayor Bev Colomb admit they may have a long wait.
Councillor Colomb told Rail Express affiliate Lloyd’s List Australia she feared the decision to scale back a Port of Hastings development was “a missed opportunity”.
“I think there is always going to be an opportunity (for a port) over there.
“There has been a lot of great work and planning and I think it is a missed opportunity for this state and certainly a missed opportunity for our region.”
The Mayor said much research had gone into preparing the way for a new terminal especially by the Port of Hastings Development Authority and its chief executive Mike Lean.
“We were some time ago hoping, or even assured, that it would continue on.
“We’re finding that we’re in the position where there’s no mention of the Port of Hastings in state government plans and the focus is very much on leasing the Port of Melbourne.
“We are certainly interpreting it as ‘not encouraging’ and don’t feel that the path the current government is taking is optimistic at all for the growth of a port at Hastings.”
The Mayor, who is a member of the South East Melbourne Alliance, a group aimed at boosting the economies of parts of Melbourne and the Peninsula, indicated much of their disappointment was the Hastings ports’ potential employment benefits.
“It’s not just about the Mornington Peninsula – it’s about a stimulus for the whole region.
“One of the questions we are asking is, ‘what are the alternatives?’
“We want to work with government to ensure we are getting the assistance that we need.”
The Mornington Peninsula Council recently passed a motion calling for “an urgent meeting” with the state government regarding the long term lease of the Port of Melbourne and consequences for the development of the Port of Hastings.
“Another part of (the motion) was that the Port of Hastings not be excluded as an option for further expansion as a direct result (of the government’s Melbourne lease plans.”
Interestingly, the Port of Hastings Development Authority remains a functioning entity with chief executive Mike Lean telling Lloyd’s List Australia they were now focusing on “bulk opportunities” in the shipping market.
In a recent speech to the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, Victorian ports minister Luke Donnellan talked about how it made little sense to set up a competitor port to Melbourne when they were about to organise its lease.
He also talked of how it would require “the wisdom of Solomon” to decide whether a future second port would be at Hastings or at a ‘Bay West’.
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