'Band-aid solution fell off': Premier apologises for 'intolerable' delays as Stockton ferry breaks again

Premier Chris Minns has apologised to Stockton residents for the failing ferry service that connects the suburb to the city after it broke down again on Saturday, leaving commuters facing a long bus ride home.

Buses replaced the harbour crossing for the second time this month as Mr Minns visited the city.

He said the unreliability of an "essential public service" had become "intolerable" and he had told the private operator to send the vessels to Sydney for urgent repairs.

"We urgently need a fix here," he said. "Just bring the ferry to Sydney and get it fixed as soon as possible."

"I genuinely apologise for the delay. It has gone on far too long."

Residents have fumed that their link to the city and its essential services has become so unreliable that many dread planning a trip for fear of either getting stuck or waylaid by hours.

Newcastle Transport said "unplanned maintenance" had taken the city's last working ferry offline "until further notice".

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and are working hard to restore full ferry services as quickly as possible," the department posted online.

It was understood the most recent fault was similar to that of the last outage earlier this month, which required the intervention of a specialist team from out of state to assess and repair.

The ferry's recent outage left it offline completely for six days, with passage resuming on December 4. Operator Keolis Downer, said at the time that the nearly 40-year-old vessel's performance was being closely monitored with additional regular checks.

The city's other ferry, the MV Hunter, was taken offline in February awaiting urgent repairs at the busy Carrington slipway, and has not returned.

The vessel was understood to be due for a 1000-hour service, with a focus on necessary repairs in Sydney to get the vessel back online as soon as possible.

Residents, the operator and Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp have previously noted that the age of the vessels meant that breakdowns were becoming more common, and were likely to continue without significant intervention.

The Hunter had sat idle, docked at Wickham, for months this year after it was initially craned from the water in February for its regular biennial survey. After being put back in the water, it broke down and was towed to the ferry base, where it has stayed until this month.

Keolis Downer has consistently denied that the $25,000 cost of craning the vessel out of the water to make repairs was the reason for the extended delay.

It has previously said that, owing to the age of the vessels, repair options including craning and trucking the boats to Port Macquarie when the Carrington slipway were unavailable were no longer preferred.

It last sent a ferry to Port Macquarie in 2023.

Stockton Community Group executive Alison Rigby, whose organisation has long called for a solution to the ailing service that regularly cuts residents off from the city, has previously labelled the state's and the operator's quick fixes and bus replacements as a "band-aid solution".

On Saturday, only days after the last outage, she said "one week of stability was not enough".

"The band-aid solution didn't stick at all," she said. "It fell straight off."

Ms Rigby has called for a replacement ferry from Sydney to be dispatched to the Newcastle harbour until the Hunter and Shortland can be returned to regular and reliable service, but said a more permanent and long term solution was needed.

"If we're going to send one to Sydney, surely we can get one of a similar size that could come up and at least take the pressure off the ferry that is running. That is the problem. It's like The Little Engine that 'Does'. It keeps going and then it has more problems."

Ms Rigby was grateful for the Premier's sentiment, and said it was "important and useful to see that the government is listening", but added the community needed more than sentimental support.

"The question I still have is, what is the timeline on this?" she said. "Sydney ferries have a renewal every so many years. There's a cycle of renewal. We don't have that in Newcastle. So, that needs to be added to the list."

"What happens if it breaks down between Christmas and New Year?" She asked. "We are moving now into tourism season and there are people everywhere, and people coming to visit. How are they going to get home?"

The Premier acknowledged the community's angst at the weekend and attributed the delay in part to the privatisation of the network.

"It would be a lot easier if it was government run," he said. "When it comes to essential public services, you just can't transplant the state's obligations to a private owner."

Asked to clarify whether the state would reconsider its contract with Keolis Downer, he said: "No, I just make the self-evident point that when it comes to essential services that the government needs to provide, it is a lot easier when it is run, owned and operated by the NSW government."

"When you get into a contract basis, we have to deal with a third party to provide an essential service. It's just not easy."

Keolis Downer and Newcastle Transport were contacted for comment.

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