Save Yarra Bay

Today the Minns Labor Government ruled out the construction of a cruise ship terminal in Yarra Bay. A great win for the community and everyone who worked tirelessly for 5 years. Save the Bay Coalition was formed in July 2018. It is a unified movement of residents, community groups, businesses, and other citizens from all over Sydney working together to stop the NSW government from developing a Mega Cruise Ship terminal in Yarra & Botany Bay.

After formation it was not long before support grew from all ranks. In Sept 2018 Randwick City Council joined the fight and Bayside Council followed not long after. The breadth and depth of the coalition that formed to defend Yarra Bay (and Botany Bay) was on display at the Save Yarra Bay Community Forum, in September 2018 at Yarra Bay Sailing Club – it was all hands on deck! We even had official T-shirts printed! Then it was time to tackle NSW Parliament in November 2018. Fix NSW in March 2019 was another chance to make our voices heard – and we certainly did!

Another beautiful crowd united in our determination to sink the cruise terminal project met in November 2019 – it was standing room only and we had to overflow onto the beach! The prize for the funniest protest had to be February 2020 at the Overseas Shipping Terminal (you had to be there!). February 2020 also saw our last community event for a long year. Fast-forward to September 2022 and it was all hands on deck to Save Yarra Bay in the lead up to the 2023 State Election.

Through changes of Government, El Nino, La Nina, and a pandemic the community never stopped fighting and believing it was possible to Save the Bay. The love of Yarra and Botany Bay saw 14,707 people sign a petition, 6,168 formed a community on Facebook, 933 on Insta and 323 on twitter cheered from the sidelines and one mascot called Mitzi showed up time after time. All True Believers!

We extend my deepest gratitude to every member of our community group, to those who supported us from near and far, and to those who lent their expertise and resources to our cause. Your unwavering commitment and dedication have made this victory possible. Today, we celebrate not just the preservation of our beach but the spirit of unity, resilience, and hope that brought us together.

Thank you all for being part of this extraordinary journey, we have won the battle for our precious bay, and today, we stand as a shining example of what a united community can achieve.