Qld LNP tips $20m election superyacht spend

LNP leader Deb Frecklington said the cash grant from the public purse would help make the northern Gold Coast the superyacht maintenance hub of the southern hemisphere.

“This investment is part of our plan to support manufacturing jobs, and includes a no-new-tax guarantee, 20 per cent lower energy costs and a commitment to transition 100 per cent government manufacturing and procurement to Queensland companies,” Frecklington said.

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Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard is home to more than 80 businesses. According to the LNP, around 3400 jobs have been lost over the last 12 months as the region copes with floods, fire and the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“The LNP [will] co-invest with the Gold Coast City Marina and Shipyard to deliver a $108 million new marine maintenance facility creating 1500 additional local jobs,” Frecklington said.

The government support will help the marina and shipyard to develop a full-service marina on a 20-hectare site next to its existing facilities. The work is expected to increase the marina’s lift capacity from its current 150 tonnes to 1200 tonnes, meaning it will be able to haul superyachts stretching to around 75 metres out of the water.

According to the LNP, the yard would then be able to design, build and maintain superyachts, as well as refit existing yachts in projects that could be worth as much as $20 million.

The Annastacia Palaszczuk-led Queensland Government has recently committed $35 million to help make the Gold Coast more superyacht-friendly, as well as committing to trials of a superyacht mooring on the Brisbane River via its Superyacht Industry Development Fund, and $2 million for a permanent superyacht mooring at The Spit.

The Palaszczuk Government had been banking on the superyacht industry to one day generate more than $1.1 billion in revenue, and support around 8000 jobs in South-East Queensland by the end of next year – assumptions made before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

The Queensland economy should also benefit from changes made to the way that foreign-owned superyachts are taxed when their owners charter them inside Australian waters.

Under the changes, instead of being charged GST on the value of a charter motor yacht brought into Australian waters, owners will now only pay tax on the revenue they earn from chartering their vessel.

Queensland aims to increase its share of the global superyacht sector by 10 per cent by 2023, with the state recognised as the Asia Pacific’s key superyacht hub.