❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice addresses Rottnest Island Authority's finances, infrastructure upgrades, accommodation competition, online booking system reliability, and visitor cost calculations, revealing project delays and methodological changes.
AnsweredQoN 5689Legislative Assembly
Asked
22 October 2019
Member
Portfolio
Tourism; Racing and Gaming; Small Business; Defence Issues; Citizenship and Multicultural Interests
QuestionView source ↗
(1) I refer to the Rottnest Island Authority 2018-19 Annual Report, and I ask: (a) What was the expense incurred in commissioning KPMG to undertake an inquiry into the collapse of the Army Jetty in October 2018; and (b) Where is that expense reflected in the Rottnest Island Authority's 2018-19 Annual Report? (2) I refer to page 51 of the Rottnest Island Authority 2018-19 Annual Report, and I ask: (a) Why was the income from the State Government reduced from $8,714m in 2018 to $4,897m in 2019? (3) I refer to the infrastructure upgrade and maintenance works discussed on page 35 of the Rottnest Island Authority 2018-19 Annual Report, and I ask: (a) Will the Minister provide a list, timeline and update of the proposed infrastructure upgrade and maintenance works on Rottnest Island, following the joint State and Federal Governments funding announcement of $33m in April 2019; (b) Will the Minister provide a breakdown of each of the individual proposed works, including the cost and whether works have gone out to tender; and (c) How many of these proposed works have commenced? (4) I refer to the competitive pressure discussed on page 35 of the Rottnest Island Authority 2018-19 Annual Report, and I ask: (a) What impact has the opening of the Discovery-Rottnest eco-tent accommodation at Pinky's Beach in March this year had on Rottnest Island Authority operated visitor accommodation; (b) What is the value of the 20-year lease agreement with Discovery-Rottnest in providing this new accommodation service; and (c) How does the Rottnest Island Authority plan to deal with the additional availability of privately operated accommodation such as Pinky's Beach and the upcoming Hotel Rottnest upgrade? (5) I refer to the online booking system discussed on page 35 of the Rottnest Island Authority 2018-19 Annual Report and I ask: (a) What is the plan to ensure the reliability and capability of the Rottnest Island online booking system; (b) Can you please advise the number of times the system has crashed and include dates and duration of the system being off line; and (c) Has a quote been obtained to rectify this situation and if so can you please provide the detail, cost and provider? (6) I refer to the target average cost per visitor on page 81 of the Rottnest Island Authority 2018-19 Annual Report, and I ask: (a) Why was the actual cost $14 per person higher than the target; (b) Why was the methodology changed to only reflect visitors by ferry instead of including an estimate of private boating figures and plane arrivals as previously measured; and (c) Will the Minister please provide detail around the new methodology?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
26 November 2019
Responded by
Minister for Tourism; Racing and Gaming; Small Business; Defence Issues; Citizenship and Multicultural Interests
Response time
9 days
(1)(a) $260 289.23
(1)(b) The expense is part of the Supplies and Services cost in the Statement of Comprehensive Income on page 40.
(2)(a) As noted in the Annual Report 2018-19 on page 70, the key reduction in Service Appropriation from 2017-18 relates to funding for the Roofing Project, which ceased in 2017-18. The Roofing Project is described on page 22 of the Annual Report 2018-19.
(3)(a)-(b)
State Funded Projects
Project
Delivery Dates
Status
Tender
Estimated Value ($M)
Fuel Jetty Upgrade
Dec 2021
Preliminary Design
Not Yet
$3.00
Barge Landing and Cargo Facilities
Jun 2022
Concept Design
Not Yet
$9.15
Main Jetty Upgrade
Jun 2023
Planning
Not Yet
$4.00
Total
$16.15
The State funded projects will be delivered within overall allocated budget and specific project funding to be determined during the design phase.
Commonwealth Funded Projects
The projects that will be the beneficiary of Commonwealth funding are still subject to agreement and execution of a funding agreement.
(3)(c) Nil.
(4)(a) While new private developments are expected to increase competitive pressure on RIA-operated visitor accommodation, it is not reflected in the occupancy rates for the first six months of operation of Discovery – Rottnest Island, as the following table demonstrates.
Date Range
RIA Occupancy Rate
March-August 2018
64.4 per cent
March-August 2019
64.8 per cent
(4)(b) The base rental income for the lease period (19 June 2018 – 30 June 2038), based on current rates, is $1 186 820.76. The rent due under the lease will, however, be subject to a nnual CPI increases. In addition, the lease provides for a Market Rent Review on 1 July 2028. A turnover rent will apply from year two of the lease, based on agreed percentages of gross receipts from various tenant trading activities.
(4)(c) The style of accommodation provided at Discovery - Rottnest Island and Hotel Rottnest Resort is unique and not comparable to RIA accommodation. Ongoing upgrades to RIA accommodation ensure that the standard provided meets the expectations of Rottnest guests. Promotional rates are utilised during periods of lower demand and marketing activities continue to attract new markets and support regular visitation.
(5)(a) Ongoing improvements are being made to focus on the stability of the online booking system and a project to create a new digital platform for bookings across all RIA products and third party sales has commenced with implementation scheduled for July 2020.
(5)(b) The following table shows the outages of the online booking system during 2018-19. At all times customers were able to book accommodation over the phone and in person.
Outage Start
Outage End
Duration
2/7/18
10/9/18
70 days
13/11/18
13/11/18
~ 5 hours
21/11/18
21/11/18
~ 23 minutes
22/12/18
27/12/18
5 days
9/1/19
10/1/19
~ 23 hours
20/1/19
20/1/19
~ 15 hours
21/2/19
21/2/19
~ 1 hour
22/2/19
22/2/19
~ 1 hour
29/3/19
29/3/19
~ 2 hours
18/4/19
18/4/19
~ 9 hours
25/4/19
25/4/19
~ 7 hours
(5)(c) The move to a new digital platform has commenced and is currently in scoping stage.
(6)(a) The target average cost per visitor of $66 was determined using previous methodology of estimating the number of visitors arriving by ferry, by private boat based on the extrapolation of boating survey results and by plane. The target figure was published in the 2018-19 Budget papers. The RIA changed the methodology for calculating average cost per visitor during the 2018-19 reporting period by including only the number of visitors arriving by ferry. This has led to a higher cost result.
(6)(b) The methodology was changed following Office of the Auditor General advice that using the extrapolation of boating survey results to determine visitor numbers who arrived at the Island by private boat and the estimated number of passengers per plane landing was not accurate enough for the purposes of KPI reporting.
(6)(c) The new methodology for measuring the average cost per visitor to Rottnest Island is now the total number of visitors arriving by ferry divided by the cost of providing the Island’s recreational and holiday services.
(1)(b) The expense is part of the Supplies and Services cost in the Statement of Comprehensive Income on page 40.
(2)(a) As noted in the Annual Report 2018-19 on page 70, the key reduction in Service Appropriation from 2017-18 relates to funding for the Roofing Project, which ceased in 2017-18. The Roofing Project is described on page 22 of the Annual Report 2018-19.
(3)(a)-(b)
State Funded Projects
Project
Delivery Dates
Status
Tender
Estimated Value ($M)
Fuel Jetty Upgrade
Dec 2021
Preliminary Design
Not Yet
$3.00
Barge Landing and Cargo Facilities
Jun 2022
Concept Design
Not Yet
$9.15
Main Jetty Upgrade
Jun 2023
Planning
Not Yet
$4.00
Total
$16.15
The State funded projects will be delivered within overall allocated budget and specific project funding to be determined during the design phase.
Commonwealth Funded Projects
The projects that will be the beneficiary of Commonwealth funding are still subject to agreement and execution of a funding agreement.
(3)(c) Nil.
(4)(a) While new private developments are expected to increase competitive pressure on RIA-operated visitor accommodation, it is not reflected in the occupancy rates for the first six months of operation of Discovery – Rottnest Island, as the following table demonstrates.
Date Range
RIA Occupancy Rate
March-August 2018
64.4 per cent
March-August 2019
64.8 per cent
(4)(b) The base rental income for the lease period (19 June 2018 – 30 June 2038), based on current rates, is $1 186 820.76. The rent due under the lease will, however, be subject to a nnual CPI increases. In addition, the lease provides for a Market Rent Review on 1 July 2028. A turnover rent will apply from year two of the lease, based on agreed percentages of gross receipts from various tenant trading activities.
(4)(c) The style of accommodation provided at Discovery - Rottnest Island and Hotel Rottnest Resort is unique and not comparable to RIA accommodation. Ongoing upgrades to RIA accommodation ensure that the standard provided meets the expectations of Rottnest guests. Promotional rates are utilised during periods of lower demand and marketing activities continue to attract new markets and support regular visitation.
(5)(a) Ongoing improvements are being made to focus on the stability of the online booking system and a project to create a new digital platform for bookings across all RIA products and third party sales has commenced with implementation scheduled for July 2020.
(5)(b) The following table shows the outages of the online booking system during 2018-19. At all times customers were able to book accommodation over the phone and in person.
Outage Start
Outage End
Duration
2/7/18
10/9/18
70 days
13/11/18
13/11/18
~ 5 hours
21/11/18
21/11/18
~ 23 minutes
22/12/18
27/12/18
5 days
9/1/19
10/1/19
~ 23 hours
20/1/19
20/1/19
~ 15 hours
21/2/19
21/2/19
~ 1 hour
22/2/19
22/2/19
~ 1 hour
29/3/19
29/3/19
~ 2 hours
18/4/19
18/4/19
~ 9 hours
25/4/19
25/4/19
~ 7 hours
(5)(c) The move to a new digital platform has commenced and is currently in scoping stage.
(6)(a) The target average cost per visitor of $66 was determined using previous methodology of estimating the number of visitors arriving by ferry, by private boat based on the extrapolation of boating survey results and by plane. The target figure was published in the 2018-19 Budget papers. The RIA changed the methodology for calculating average cost per visitor during the 2018-19 reporting period by including only the number of visitors arriving by ferry. This has led to a higher cost result.
(6)(b) The methodology was changed following Office of the Auditor General advice that using the extrapolation of boating survey results to determine visitor numbers who arrived at the Island by private boat and the estimated number of passengers per plane landing was not accurate enough for the purposes of KPI reporting.
(6)(c) The new methodology for measuring the average cost per visitor to Rottnest Island is now the total number of visitors arriving by ferry divided by the cost of providing the Island’s recreational and holiday services.
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