| | | | | | | | | Welcome to this month's edition of Port News.
On June 2, we celebrated the long-awaited arrival of the first cruise ship, P&O's Pacific Explorer, into the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal and it was a wonderful sight after two very long years for the cruise industry. Congratulations and thank you to all our partners and our employees.
This month we also recognised National Reconciliation Week, which we officially marked with a powerful Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony at the BICT's official opening by Songman Shannon Ruska.
If you would like more information about anything in this edition of Port of Brisbane News, please contact us.
Neil Stephens
CEO | | | | | | | | | | | Sunny skies and a crowd of well-wishers welcomed P&O's Pacific Explorer and around 1400 of its passengers into the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal in the early morning of June 2, ushering in a new era of cruise tourism for Queensland.
Working closely with our colleagues at Carnival Australia, the first guests into the BICT were welcomed with a mini-concert from Ricki-Lee Coulter, followed by the official opening attended by the Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Deputy Premier Steven Miles, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Carnival Australia President, Marguerite Fitzgerald and PBPL CEO, Neil Stephens.
We are looking forward to a strong re-start of cruising out of Brisbane, with a further 21 cruise ship calls scheduled before the end of September and over 170 current bookings for the 2022/23 cruise season.
The successful re-start of cruise in Queensland and the opening of the BICT has been a major collaboration with many partners including state and local governments, Carnival Australia and its partners, federal border and biosecurity agencies, our contractors and of course, our people.
You can read our media release or watch a video from the day. | | | | | | | | | | | Refrigerated beef exports are down 24% this financial year to date compared to FY21 volumes, with just over 37,000 TEU exported from July '21 to May '22. The industry has endured a raft of challenges during FY22, with cattle shortages and widespread flooding as well as covid-related issues impacting labour availability. Combined, these have resulted in a reduction of processing shifts and as a result, limited export containerised beef volumes through the Port of Brisbane.
However, the sector remains positive with the Meat & Livestock Australia forecasting that the national cattle population will grow by 1.1 million head by the end of 2022. Processing is also expected to increase with more supply coming onto the market. PBPL will continue to work with our customers and supply chain partners to support the industry in the year ahead. | | | | | | | | | | | The Property team continues to have an incredibly busy year, with three projects completed since January and three more currently underway.
Autocare's expansion in our Port West estate reached Practical Completion in early June. Autocare has taken possession of the site and is operational in the new building.
Some construction works for MEDLOG's new container park development on Fisherman Island have been delayed due to the significant rainfall throughout May, however the first slab of the container rated hardstand pavements has been poured.
We're also delighted to be working with our customer Mondiale VGL, to expand its operations in the Port Gate estate. Works will include an expansion of container-rated hardstand plus additional office space and car parking. Construction will begin mid-June, targeting completion in November 2022, subject to weather. | | | | | | | | | Celebrating National Volunteer Week 2022 | | | More than 30 PBPL employees lent a hand during National Volunteer Week to support our long-term partners, The Smith Family and Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre.
As part of The Smith Family's 'Work Inspiration' program, employees had the privilege of sitting down with students from Pacific Pines State High School to provide one-on-one mentoring to young people considering their options after school.
A break in the weather enabled a group of port employees to travel to one of Queensland's most historic islands, St Helena, to help clean up the beaches following the recent heavy rain and flood events. Take a look at the video here. | | | | | | | | | International Men's Health Week | | | Next week, 13 - 19 June is International Men's Health Week - a week dedicated to heightening the focus on issues facing men's health.
In today's fast-paced society, many men are time-poor with work and/or family commitments taking over. It can be hard to find the time to exercise regularly, keep on top of healthy food intake and most importantly, booking an annual check-up with a GP.
International Men's Health Week is also a great opportunity to open dialogue and raise awareness around the topic of men's health and to book that annual health check-up. A group of our own PBPL men recently had a "MANDATE" to do just this.
For more information, visit the Men's Health Week website | | | | | | | | | | | | |