Let the private sector improve Sydney ferry services

The commitment of the new NSW Liberal Government to involve the private sector in the operation, maintenance and leasing of the Sydney ferry fleet is good public policy.

Indeed, the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Sydney Ferries Corporation commissioned in 2007 by the then NSW Labor Government concluded as much. The Commissioner, Bret Walker SC, observed that there was an "urgent need for an entirely new fleet of ferries for Sydney", and that "the replacement of the fleet is an opportunity to reinvigorate ferry services, provide better services that customers want, and permit expansion". Walker recommended that a comprehensive services contract, including fleet replacement responsibilities, be offered to the market.