Huston grills Saffioti as community fury grows over Matilda Bay ferry terminal

Nedlands MLA Jonathan Huston plans to grill the Transport Minister in Parliament today as part of the fight to stop a ferry terminal from being built at Matilda Bay.

It comes ahead of a community get-together on Sunday that will hear from the Liberal Party’s Mr Huston and other water user groups who are against the proposed ferry terminal at Matilda Bay.

Mr Huston said he wanted Transport Minister Rita Saffioti to listen to their reasons.

“I’ll be able to get up and speak for seven-and-a-half minutes ... And the minister then has to respond on her feet,” he said.

“We expect at least 40 to 50 members of the public to attend in the public gallery.”

The location of the new ferry terminal was confirmed by Ms Saffioti in July as part of future plans to establish a Metronet on the Swan river transport system.

Development applications have since lodged for ferry terminals in Nedlands and Applecross.

The Nedlands stop will be built on the Matilda Bay foreshore opposite the UWA campus.

However, the chosen location sparked backlash from other water users and Matilda Bay-based groups who claim the terminal will disrupt — and potentially shut down — their clubs’ operations.

A petition on change.org to “Save Matilda Bay” was started earlier this month by Mr Huston and now has more than 1500 signatures.

“It’s a vital community reserve which has been used by West Australians, not just from the western suburbs, for decades,” Mr Huston said.

“It will be very harmful to flora and fauna, most particularly the dolphins, birds and the the local biodiversity in the vicinity ... and it will have a severe impact upon rowing, sailing and sporting clubs.”

Mr Huston said the Sunday picnic would hear from groups including Royal Perth Yacht Club, UWA Rowing Club and SailabilityWA, who are advocating for the ferry to instead be built at JoJo’s Jetty in Nedlands.

“JoJo’s Jetty is the preferred option as it still services UWA,” Mr Huston said.

“I went to see the vice-chancellor of UWA, who told me the university is agnostic about where the ferry terminal should be built.

“They don’t have a preference. If it ended up being at JoJo’s, that was fine by them.”

However, that site was dismissed after it was found there was too much traffic from kite surfers.

Ms Saffioti said at the time of the announcement the chosen location at Matilda Bay would alleviate some community concern, but admitted the proposal would still have its critics.

“There’s still some people who are concerned, who aren’t necessarily on board with the proposed location,” she said.

“But there’s a different range of water users; for example, the wind and kite surfers who actually use the water near JoJo’s weren’t keen on that location.

“Different water users had different views. We tried to get the right balance. As I said, they’re not all satisfied at this point, but we needed to make a decision.”

Mr Huston said an “action day” has also been planned for November 16 which would include a regatta, live music and speakers.

The new Matilda Bay terminal is set to open by late 2027 and will now go to construction tender as part of the $107m ferry network plan, which includes building five new electric ferries.

“With the preferred location for a new ferry terminal servicing UWA and Matilda Bay now finalised, a water user reference group will be established to provide ongoing advice and ensure appropriate controls and measures are in place so the waterway can be shared safely by all users,” Ms Saffioti said.