Patrick on the move

Issued by Minister for Transport and Minister for Main Roads

4 October 2001

Patrick The Australian Stevedore and the Port of Brisbane Corporation have signed a Heads of Agreement for the staged relocation of some of the company’s facilities from Hamilton to Fisherman Islands.

Patrick will relocate its break-bulk operation and vehicle pre-delivery and inspection facilities, starting in the second half of 2002.

Existing shipping services – other than Patrick’s – will continue to operate at Hamilton.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Steve Bredhauer said Patrick would be able to take advantage of the benefits the Port of Brisbane offered, for example rail access in the TradeCoast precinct.

“This announcement will create significant new job opportunities during construction of the new Fisherman Islands facilities,” Mr Bredhauer said.

“The TradeCoast precinct at the mouth of the Brisbane River, offers world-class infrastructure to drive trade, jobs and economic development,” he said.

PBC Chief Executive Officer Graham Mulligan said the need for the relocation of the port from Hamilton was first recognised in the early 1970s when Fisherman Islands was identified as the preferred future location for Port of Brisbane.

“Since then, Fisherman Islands has developed significantly. And the relocation of the existing Hamilton facilities continues to be reflected in our long-range strategic plans,” he said.

“These plans have been based on the assumption that within 10 to 15 years, all port-related activity at Hamilton will have moved down-river,” Mr Mulligan said.

“The timing is consistent with the terms of the existing leases,” he said.

The Heads of Agreement requires the Corporation to provide facilities at Fisherman Islands, such as common-user berths and developed back-up land, to accommodate the business activities transferred from the Hamilton area.

Under the agreement, Patrick will take up some of the developed backup land behind Berth 8.

This will, in turn, fast-track the development of Berth 9, which will considerably increase the capacity of wharf frontage at Fisherman Islands.