2022-03-14 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                                                                                                                                14 MARCH 2022


a 3-year extension only at that time, rather the 5-year extension recommended by staff, and
resolved that “the remaining balance 2 year extension period to be further considered prior to the
lease expiry to allow Council to investigate opportunities for digital technology introduction”.
In August 2021 Council considered a report providing an update on the status of digital technology
investigations into opportunities, progress of an independent review of the service and seeking
agreement to award the balance 2-year lease extension to NNSF. Council agreed to award the
extension and NNSF’s lease agreement is now scheduled to expire on 30 June 2024.
2.                       Independent Ferry Review
Economic consultants, AEC Group, were commissioned in mid-2021 to undertake a broad review
of the Noosa North Shore ferry service to inform the upcoming service renewal process. AEC’s
review was completed in February 2022. Key extracts from the review are contained in this report,
and supporting attachments. However, the review in its entirety has not been attached to this report
due to the commercial-in-confidence nature of market responses and financial assessment which
may impact the upcoming service tender process.
AEC’s review addresses:
    The current ferry service model and operating environment
    Benchmarking of 17 existing cable ferry services in Eastern Australia
    Engagement with local stakeholders
    Market sounding of potential service providers
    Financial and non-financial evaluation of potential operating models
    Service level considerations for the future service
    Procurement process considerations and recommendations
Notable findings in the report include:
                        The existing Noosa River service is one of the busiest cable ferry services in Australia (if not
                         the busiest), servicing approximately 300,000 – 400,000 crossings annually. See annual
                         crossing history in Figure 1 below.

                          500,000


                          450,000


                          400,000


                          350,000


                          300,000
     Vehicle Crossings




                          250,000


                          200,000


                          150,000


                          100,000


                           50,000


                               -
                                                                                                                                                  2012/13




                                                                                                                                                                                2015/16




                                                                                                                                                                                                              2018/19
                                    2001/02

                                              2002/03

                                                        2003/04

                                                                  2004/05

                                                                            2005/06

                                                                                      2006/07

                                                                                                2007/08

                                                                                                          2008/09

                                                                                                                    2009/10

                                                                                                                              2010/11

                                                                                                                                        2011/12




                                                                                                                                                            2013/14

                                                                                                                                                                      2014/15




                                                                                                                                                                                          2016/17

                                                                                                                                                                                                    2017/18




                                                                                                                                                                                                                        2019/20

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  2020/21




                                    Fig. 1 - Annual Vehicle Crossings (excluding freight vehicles)



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