Don’t Overlook Local Labour - Koji Debris Removal sparks controversy.

The wreckage at Rose Bay is to be cleared by an out-of-town contractor this week after months of local volunteer action.

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The announcement of a government-funded removal of boat debris strewn across the Whitsundays by Ex-tropical Cyclone Koji caused controversy last week, with locals calling for transparency as to why local towing companies were not consulted by Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) to take away the vessels.  

When out-of-town corporation Clayton’s Towing announced they had been engaged to remove the vessel 7 Wonders from where it had been decaying on Bowen’s Rose Bay, locals sparked into conversation, asking the question: Why was a local business not called upon to take care of the refuse?  

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Darren Foster from Whitsunday Moorings & Marine Construction explained his frustration.  

“During the last cyclones, the locals got a lot of work.” He said.  

“Debbie, Louie, you know, all the big ones, the locals worked together. We got the job done. And it's just very unusual that, for whatever reason, there was no consultation with any of the local providers at all.”

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“Generally, there's two ways that tenders go out. One, they go out for public tender, and it's just listed on a public tender site. When the tenders go out, we put in a price, and depending on whether or not we're competitive, we get it. In this case though, it appears that itwent out to a very closed group of tenders.

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“There are local companies perfectly capable of undertaking the lifting and removal of those wrecks. After an event like [Ex-tropical Cyclone Koji], we all suffer financially because of the loss of tourists in the area. And when there's less tourists in the area, our clients have got less money to pay us, so we suffer as well.  

“MDive, the company that have secured a lot of the work, are a Gladstone based company, who are looking to establish themselves here in the Whitsunday. We don’t hold any problem with that. However, a fair playing field would be a nice place to start.”

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David suggested this wasn’t the first time local companies had lost out on work within the region.  

“I personally assisted local senior parks rangers to develop the terms of reference to allow the Great Barrier Reef Marine Parks Authority to release the maintenance of the Whitsundays Public Moorings to private companies for tender. 

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“Not once in 16 years has a local company won that tender. Despite the fact that the local tender was cheaper and had very high experience in moorings repairs and maintenance.”

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David Edge from David Edge Marine Contracting added to the conversation, calling on the government to explain the salvage decision.  

“Overlooking local operators has happened in the past with MSQ, [for example] a vessel lodged in the mud at Cannonvale a few years ago, where MSQ gave the job to a Townsville company to salvage at a cost of $1.7 million with no tender issues, which we were more than qualified to perform,” he alleged.

“Before the state became involved, we quoted the vessel’s owner $90,000 to float the vessel.”

At the time of print we are waiting for a comment from MSQ.

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