bState government bureaucratic red tape is strangling future tourism growth on the Brisbane River, the city's lord mayor said after handing down his budget on Wednesday.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said he was "terribly frustrated" at faltering plans to have river tourism expanded to places such as North Stradbroke, South Stradbroke and Moreton islands.
And he found an ally in Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind.
"(Cr Quirk) has certainly hit on a very high priority issue," Mr Gschwind said.
"I can say with confidence that there are operators who currently offer services in relation to the river are indeed frustrated that further evolution of product is further stymied by complex administrative arrangements and long and tedious processes."
The idea of new super-ferries to Moreton Bay islands, along with other river tourism ideas, have been explored since 2008, but nothing concrete has ever eventuated.
And the Department of State Development is also aware of plans by North Stradbroke Island's Quandamooka people to have Brisbane conference delegates travel on day trips to explore their cultural heritage as a replacement industry for sand mining, but limited progress has been made.
Cr Quirk allocated $18 million over four years for new mooring facilities and marinas on the Brisbane River as Brisbane City Council tried to boost river-based tourism in Brisbane.
"Although international and domestic tourist numbers continue to climb for Brisbane, the river-based tourism and recreation sector is undeveloped," he said.
Tourism figures show more than 7 million tourists come to Brisbane each year and inject $6.3 billion* into the economy each year.
"River development processes are riddled with bureaucratic approval processes with many fingers in the pie," Cr Quirk said in his budget speech.
"I simply ask other authorities to adopt a 'make it happen' approach in the interests of Brisbane and its future."
In his media conference afterwards, Cr Quirk said there were too many groups with a say in what happened on the Brisbane River.
"What I am saying is that anytime that anyone wants to do something on the river, there are a lot of fingers in the pie," he said.
"And we need to get a spirit of 'can-do', if you like. We need a spirit of 'make it happen' out there on the river."
Cr Quirk said the council was having problems with the state government's Maritime Safety Queensland, and other agencies, as it tried to get approval for new mooring and river marinas.
The council proposes new docks at Teneriffe, Hawthorne, Kurilpa, Brett's Wharf, the University of Queensland, Newstead House and the Bulimba Barracks site.
MSQ must approve all river travel projects.
Cr Quirk said he believed the delays meant it was time for a new approach.
"This isn't something that is new, this is something that has been a real issue for a long period of time," he said.
"In my view, a single river co-ordinating authority is probably a long way overdue.
"I really do think we need to look at a single entity that co-ordinates the approval processes on the river."
Mr Gschwind said Cr Quirk was correct in identifying big problems for river tourism businesses.
He said while huge inroads had been made in using the river, there were "certainly a lot of opportunities that are untapped and under-utilised".
Mr Gschwind said river tourism operators were definitely frustrated by red tape.
"We have very limited access for tourism operators for access for vessels and boats," he said.
"We have untapped opportunities for activity in and near the river that could be explored if we had arrangements which were more conducive to encourage private investment in supportive infrastructure."
MSQ, which formed part of the Department of Main Roads, said through a spokesman that safety on the river had to be its first priority.
The MSQ spokesman said it had to work with two other departments, the Department of Environment and Heritage and the Department of State Development, on any new ideas to use the river.
Queensland's tourism bodies, including Tourism Minister Kate Jones or her department, appeared to have no input to the process.
No relevant state government minister was available for comment Wednesday.
Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said $6.3 million, not $6.3 billion which comes from both domestic and international visitors to Brisbane.
