7 April 2007

Canberra's working harbour?

| johnboy
Join the conversation
24

The Canberra Times is very excited by plans to build a harbour out onto Lake Burley Griffin at Kingston.

Canberra is expected to have a working harbour within two years, as the completion of the $1billion Kingston Foreshore project draws nearer.

Planning Minister Simon Corbell will announce today that construction of the vast new complex will begin in July.

Hmmm, a working harbour? Carrying commercial traffic from where to whence may we ask?

Sounds a lot more like a marina, Simon must have been playing with SimCity.

And was it on the Canberra Plan?

Join the conversation

24
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Maybe caf, but the money should be spent on priorities for the ACT people.

A harbour requires a sea route. We’re inland.

Therefore it is insane. What are we going to do, trade within ourselves on the lake?

The Govt should be attending to those issues I raised earlier, rather than wasting taxpayer money on crap like that.

nyssa, I think taking into account land sales it’s been revenue positive.

Reading the article it seems that this has been in some kind of plan for more than 10 years. It’s not clear whether it’s a local thing or an NCA thing though.

I’d also be asking why we still were made to take up self-govt when the majority of Canberrans voted against it every time it was brought up!

Why on earth did we collectively agree to a 4-year term? If ony it were a local council, then someone could sack them for incompetence.

They don’t have money to keep schools open, or to fix potholes or to even bring more police into Canberra, but they have enough for a “harbour”?

What are they smoking?

What a waste of public monies. It’s a damn shame the election isn’t until next year.

They can name the harbour Jervis Bay. Or just move Jervis Bay to Lake BG… just drag it up the Clyde.

For a lighthouse, put a light on the bell tower.

The Canberra Times can’t help themselves – they publish a planner’s dream for developers’/speculators’ big bucks every six months or so and (luckily) we are still to see the ludicrous and crass foorbridge and a “vibrant” inner city.
The working harbour will be lucky if it includes more than the little steam powered launch. The Canberra Rowing Club guys – who are relocating to the East Basin in this latest plan – will see to it that any maritime industry does not disrupt their sport.

Oooh The Canberra Times is very excited, obviously a credible story if The Canberra Times printed it !

It seems that to make the harbour they have to take over some of the lake. If the NCA gets involved they may end up reclaiming all of the east basin and have to move the harbour.

Looks like a port is going in at Acton – whats with all the containers on/near the futsal slab?

(Speaking of which, when’s the next international futsal tournament on there?)

This is sounding like it has the makings of a theme park. How bout an ersatz rough pub where public servants can pretend to be stevedores?

We need a lighthouse first…a really big one.

Stanhope can dock his Siev-X replica there.

Another monument to the follies of the S-hope government.

Superschools, superjails, superlibraries, a super Grassby, a not-so-super bus system, and now a super harbour. Where will it all end?

For true authenticity, the “harbour” needs yards full of shipping containers, lots of cranes, trucks thundering up and down the roads 24/7, some old wharfies pubs … all so the residents get that realistic “harbour” feeling.

Where is all the harbour traffic coming from …the yet to be announced Acton oil refinery and grain handling port?

Does it come complete with working harbour smell? That would increase the appeal.

It won’t be a working harbour until I see the Emma Maersk parked and awaiting cargo. Unfortunatly that might spoil the view for the ‘working class’ living in their ‘working harbour’.

pffft…who the hell are they kidding?

Simcity is the only place in Canberra you would need a harbour to protect our fleet of ships from the unforgiving waters of our blessed artificial lake.

what’s next? How about a underground rail link between Civic interchange and the airport. dumbasses.

Isn’t there some sort of ban on watercraft between the two bridges anyway? Even if it were established as an East Canberra Yacht Club, they couldn’t sail far, and they couldn’t have regattas with CYC, at least not without bringing the trailers in

Is Simon working with Crazy Chester these days?
If we get a dock then I think we also need a canal from the lake to Googong (soon to be re-named Lake Pru).

what a total waste of money. the new part of kingston is a bloody awful sterile mess anyway, much less adding a useless marina. How about some working, alternate public transport Simon? I like the light rail idea, not to mention the VFT

can’t wait to see the tankers lined up at the docks, maybe even the QE2

If only Canberrans were as easy to please as Sims… but at least natural disasters happen rather less frequently than they do in Corbell’s game-city. We may have fires, but at least there’s no hurricanes, major floods, earthquakes or attacks from Godzilla.

Still, this “harbour” idea is stupid. A light rail system would make much more sense. If that were implemented, one day we might rise to the status of a Megalopolis…

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.