BIA welcomes Crown Lands reforms

Minister Anderson (centre) with Boating Industry Association director Darren Vaux (left) and Soldiers Point Marina general manager Darrell Barnett (right) at Soldiers Point Marina at Port Stephens © Boating Industry Association

BIA President Andrew Fielding today welcomed NSW Government reforms to Crown Lands marina leasing. Andrew Fielding said the announcement by the Minister for Crown Lands and Water Kevin Anderson at Port Stephens was good news for industry and for boating.

"BIA has supported this reform which will help improve boating infrastructure at marinas which are important boat storage sites and access points to some of the best waterways in NSW," he said.

"There are 110 marinas in the State, many are located on Crown Lands and are leased to commercial operators. This reform will encourage operators to improve their offerings to boaters and the public."

He said the marina leasing reform aimed to deliver sustainable marinas and boatyards, as well as opportunities to create jobs and support economies across the State's communities.

A new leasing model will be implemented as part of this reform which will include:

• A standard lease term of 40 years (up from 20 years) with marina operators able to extend leases, subject to meeting operating conditions including a minimum commitment to reinvest in facilities.
• A new standard lease template to provide certainty for marina operators.
• Rent calculations for marinas will be transparent and more predictable with the rent rationale and breakdown being made publicly available on the Crown Lands website.

BIA was closely involved in the commercial marina leasing reform as part of a wider program of policy renewal kick-started with a Ministers' Round Table held in October 2019. This flowed on to development of the Crown Lands State Strategic Plan through 2020-21, Crown Lands Management Act Evaluation in 2021 and the Crown Lands Taskforce which ran from 2021 to 2022.

The Crown Lands Taskforce was established by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment to provide oversight, advice and assistance to Crown Lands with the implementation of Crown land 2031 - State Strategic Plan for Crown land. Arising from this work was the Crown Land 2031 First Action Plan which was released in April 2022. The commercial marina leasing reform was delivered under the Action Plan.

For information on BIA visit www.bia.org.au.