A report has been prepared by the Department of Defence that
responds to public submissions made regarding the removal of the Hammerhead
Crane at Garden Island, Sydney.
The report outlines the range of public submissions received,
Defence’s response to those issues, and further details and analysis on the
options for the crane’s removal.
Of the eight options outlined in the report, the removal of the
crane and the salvage of key heritage components for display is the lowest cost
option by a factor of three, at $7.4 million.
To leave the crane in its current
place and therefore build a new wharf east of Garden Island would cost 17 times
more than the preferred option, at $123.7 million.
“The Hammerhead Crane is more than 60 years old and hasn’t been
used for the past 16 of those years. Even if we did pay to return it to the
best condition it was ever in, it would still not deliver a third of the
capability that our cranes now deliver,” Senator Feeney said.
“The reality is it’s a crane that was built in 1951. In its peak,
it was lifting 250 tonnes. By 1996 the rust was so bad that the crane was
barely lifting 70 tonnes. Compare this to modern cranes that are lifting in
excess of 800 tonnes and you can see just how unworkable it is to keep this
crane in a working Navy base.
“It limits our Navy’s ability to use the wharf at Garden Island
and adjacent berths, as well as adding a layer of complexity when maintaining
and repairing ships. This is a problem that will only get worse with the
arrival of our multi-billion dollar Landing Helicopter Docks.
“Every centimetre of compromise given to this crane takes away
from our Navy’s ability to use Garden Island to its best possible advantage.
“It is a liability that costs over $700,000 just to keep it
standing there safely. This is money that comes straight out of our Defence
budget. Every year the crane stands, that’s $700,000 or more that our nation
loses to real Defence capability. The absurdity of this is reflected by the
fact that Defence received an unusually high percentage of submissions in
favour of removing the crane,” he said.
The proposal to remove the crane is being assessed under the Environmental
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The
decision on the crane’s removal will be made by the Minister for
Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, the Hon Tony
Burke MP, after considering the report.
To leave the crane in its current place and therefore build a new wharf east of Garden Island would cost 17 times more than the preferred option.
