National Capital Authority says seaplanes will make Canberra 'comparable with the Vancouvers of the world'

The NCA announced in November, without prior public consultation, that it would back proposals to allow two different operators' bids to fly seaplanes from Canberra to Sydney and the South Coast.

Under the plan, passengers will disembark at a jetty on the eastern side of the National Museum of Australia, with a pontoon to be built where the Paddle Steamer Enterprise is currently docked.

Concerns have been raised about the impact of the planes on lake users, including boat and kayak users.

In a committee hearing, Canberra MP Alicia Payne and ACT senator David Pocock questioned the authority's chief executive, Sally Barnes, about the plan to allow seaplanes on the lake.

A potential Sydney to Canberra operation would carry up to 14 passengers, on three flights a day, Monday to Friday, while a South Coast flight would be "intermittent, depending on what the demand is".

Senator Pocock was concerned about how much consultation, after the initial decision, has been done with the community.

He told The Canberra Times, "It would seem there could be an imbalance between the potential utility and benefits of a seaplane service, and the disruption and negative impact such a service would have".

Ms Barnes said the community was not asked if they wanted seaplanes on the lake, but rather what considerations would need to be taken into account if the plan went ahead.

"It's fair to say there were more people that submitted to that process that didn't want to have a seaplane on the lake and people who did. But that actually wasn't the question," Ms Barnes said.

Senator David Pocock questioned the consultation process, saying "if most of them were negative, you're not taking that into account".

Ms Barnes responded saying the board had done "a lot of work on community engagement" and the public sentiment around the proposal "was much more 50 50".

However, she said "at the end of the day, the NCA board in particular has to make decisions about what's best in the long term and what's best for Canberra as the national capital and how do you attract people here?"

The authority's chief executive said it is working with sea plane operators and they "don't want to disrupt anybody".

Senator Pocock said in his statement, the hearing "has raised concerns for me on the process of this consultation and whether it was genuinely consultative with the communities that will be impacted by this decision, including Canberrans that use the lake for sport and recreation".

"Yesterday, the NCA acknowledged that even if you looked beyond just the submissions to social media commentary, community sentiment on the seaplanes appeared divided," he said.

Ms Payne questioned if the authority had done a business case to look into the economic viability to the plan.

Ms Barnes said the board is "looking at all the safety issues", including permits, licences, a landing fee, which is being negotiated, and additional emergency services in the area.

Ms Barnes said the proposal "makes us comparable with the Vancouvers of the world. It adds a bit more of a tourism vibe if you'd like to say that, it links to the South Coast".

Ms Payne also asked if the authority was revisiting the plan to land and take off on the central basin. Ms Barnes said she had made a commitment to look back through the previous heritage impact assessment to see if another assessment is needed.

Senator Pocock said in a statement, "Looking at the discussion paper, it is unclear to me what the benefits of this proposal will be for the Canberra economy".

"As yet, I haven't seen any advice or evidence that the three planned flights a day from Rose Bay, carrying a maximum of 14 people per flight, will be a significant contributor to spending in our city," he said.

Ms Barnes said the idea to have seaplanes on the lake has been "a bumpy ride" and began in 2015 with the ACT government in conversations with a sea plane operator who proposed to land in the central basin.

However, she said the idea was quickly "ruled out" because "it wasn't appropriate from a heritage perspective and some concerns about people driving on Commonwealth and Kings Avenue bridge".

Another pitch from a Sydney seaplane operator in 2019, who proposed to land on West Lake, and a demonstration flight was conducted but COVID-19 put the project on hold.

Ms Barnes said the current proposal is "not a done deal with the operators but the concept has been agreed".