TIME TO GET ON BOARD

LAST April, in the grips of the fear and uncertainty of our first COVID-19 wave, the mood of the region was bolstered by an injection of good news.

The announcement that the Spirit of Tasmania would be moving its Victorian base from Melbourne’s Station Pier to Geelong was the boost our plummeting tourism industry needed — a long-term project to look forward to that would bring thousands of visitors directly to our shores when our economy needed them the most.

The move was quite the coup for GeelongPort, which has invested $135m developing a 12-hectare facility into a large-scale ferry terminal.

But added tourists means added traffic, and Corio Quay Road will also need some upgrades to ensure an adequate visitor experience for people heading on and off the boat.

The $15m needed to upgrade the road and install traffic lights and dedicated access points should be a nobrainer for a government looking to invest in a project that will inject money directly into our tourism economy. But the state government has shown little interest in finding money in its May 20 budget for the proposal — declaring it a matter for GeelongPort and leaving the port hoping for a helping hand from the feds.

It is difficult to fathom how a project that is forecast to benefit Victoria’s tourism sector through increased expenditure of $174.1m by 2029-30, could be so easily palmed off by a government that well knows the importance of helping the industry’s postpandemic recovery.

The arrival of the Spirit of Tasmania is a genuine good news story for our region and the port has already stumped up $135m of its own cash to make it happen. Hopefully our governments will also get on board.