The continued availability of sea freight to Norfolk Island is a key priority of the Australian Government, which is currently pursuing options to increase sea freight capacity – including a temporary groyne at Cascade Port.
A temporary groyne at Cascade presents an opportunity for improved sea freight services to the island. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, and Communications (the Department) is working closely with Marine Parks Australia and the Norfolk Island Regional Council as a priority to ensure any proposal meets the needs of the community without adversely affecting the marine environment.
If the temporary groyne concept proves viable, the draft groyne design will go through the necessary assessments to ensure that it will meet legislative obligations around environmental impact and first point of entry biosecurity requirements. These would be progressed as quickly as possible with relevant agencies.
The Australian Government continues to settle a Ports Management Strategy to support reliable and safe port operations in the longer-term, which is essential to the economic wellbeing of the Norfolk Island community.
In the meantime, the Government continues to support air freight services for Norfolk Island and is working closely with freight services providers to monitor demand.
Any enquiries about the temporary groyne can be made to: office.administrator@infrastructure.gov.au
Eric Hutchinson
Administrator of Norfolk Island
4 February 2021