Multi-million dollar sweet treat for Hobart

Lindt's Home of Chocolate in Zurich, Switzerland, is widely regarded as the world's greatest destination for chocolate lovers and is home to the world's largest chocolate fountain,

Valrhona Cité du Chocolat in Tain-l'Hermitage, France; Cadbury World in Birmingham, UK, and the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate in Brussels, Belgium, are also much-loved destinations of those with sweet tooths.

Now Hobart, in Tasmania, hopes to challenge those destinations with a $150 million project that aims to transform the Cadbury factory waterfront parklands into a new visitor experience that may open as early as 2027.

Developed by Simon Currant and Associates, the Chocolate Experience at Cadbury promises "a celebration of chocolate on a scale never before seen".

The project will celebrate a century of Cadbury in Tasmania while also showcasing the state’s producers, ingredients, and makers.

“This is a uniquely Tasmanian story that embraces 100 years of Cadbury, provenance, innovation and artisan chocolate production, with the entire State sharing in the benefits,” said developer Simon Currant. who has a lomg and impressive history in the travel industry.

Tasmanian architecture firm Cumulus Studio, together with world-renowned Art Processors - a David Walsh enterprise born from MONA - will shape the creative direction of the project.

“Built on curiosity, invention, and joy, this is an active sensorial experience that brings the wonder of chocolate to life, inspiring discovery and connection through generosity and hands-on fun for all ages,” said Tony Holzner of Art Processors.



The design takes cues from the adjacent Cadbury factory, reimagining its pipes, machines, and conveyor belts.

“The CEC is an architectural embodiment of chocolate itself - rich, layered, and unforgettable," said Peter Walker of Cumulus Studio..

"It is a place where magic is not just seen, but felt, tasted, and experienced in every detail.”

The attraction, which will still need investors, is forecast to welcome 550,000 visitors annually.

The project will be 95% privately funded, with government support (that's Tasmanian taxpayer money).

Toby Smith, President of Mondelēz International in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, said: “Given the significant community benefits this project delivers, we’re excited to be on-board as the brand partner, helping to create a lasting tourism and economic legacy for the state.”

In partnership with Navigators, operators of the MONA ferries, two new purpose-built ferries will transport more than 80% of visitors from Hobart to a new Claremont terminal in just 30 minutes.

See www.cadburyexperience.com.au

Image: Cumulus Studio and Art Processors

Ferry compo failures damage Tasmania's tourism image

Tasmania's image as a welcoming tourist destination has been hobbled by failures from ferry operator TT-Line. 

TT-Line cancelled ferry sailings by Spirit of Tasmania 1 from Devonport to the Australian mainland during the week, leaving some travellers high and dry. 

Worse, ferry passengers were denied overnight accommodation and food vouchers when they were forced to spend extra days on the island. 

Spirit of Tasmania 1 travelled to Singapore in July as part of its scheduled maintenance program. 

Its departure from Singapore was then delayed by faults and paperwork problems, meaning TT Line had to cancel several services. 

People booked to sail on August 5, for instance, told the Hobart Mercury their sailing had been pushed back to Thursday."

Remember that the Spirit ferries are the only option for people travelling between Tasmania and the mainland with a vehicle. Unlike with airline passengers, there are no alternative sailings. 

TT-Line refused the delayed passengers any compensation, leaving passengers to fend/pay for themselves for the period they were delayed. 

They did offer to refund fares - which was absolutely useless for those travelling with a vehicle. 

A spokesperson for TT-Line told the newspaper that "no compensation outside of refunds would be offered".  So basically an FU to customers.

    
Perhaps because caretaker Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff has a totally unneeded stadium to pay for. And budget bottom lines are out of control in Tassie (see below). 

TT-Line Company Pty Ltd, trading as Spirit of Tasmania, is a Tasmanian Government-owned business enterprise that has provided ferry services between mainland Australia and Tasmania since July 1993.

As it refuses to accept any responsibility when it lets its customers down potential users might want to make sure they have travel insurance. 

The team at Tourism Tasmania must be pulling their hair out in frustration. 

* TT-Line and TasPorts are the entities responsible for the fiasco regarding the two new Finnish-built ferry vessels currently on their way to Tasmania from Europe. These vessels cannot be used until a new dock is completed in Devonport - at the earliest sometime next year. The budget for the dock project has blown out from $90m to $375m during delays. The two new ferries were originally promised for 2021. 

The Tasmanian Government last week increased the debt limit for TT-Line after learning it would exceed its existing cap.

Tasmanian Treasury advised presumptive treasurer Guy Barnett that the TT-Line would breach its $990 billion debt cap in September. The approval enables TT-Line to borrow up to $410 million more from state financier TASCORP.

Happy days. 

Ferry, ferry dumb: Tasmania botches major project

If you order two new high-tech ferries to boost tourism to your island then the first thing you need to do is ensure that you have somewhere suitable for them to dock.

Unfortunately for the tourism industry in Tasmania that did not happen when ferry operator TT-Line ordered two new ferries to run from Devonport, on the north coast of the island, to Geelong, outside Melbourne.

The new Spirit of Tasmania ferries, Spirit IV and V, have been built in Finland by shipbuilder Rauma Marine Construction and have been undergoing testing and preparations to travel to Tasmania after several delays. 

IV has spent several months docked at Leith in Scotland with nowhere to go, and now V is also homeless. 

TasPorts, which operates docking facilities around Tasmania, did not begin construction on the new berth in Devonport until last year and it is not expected to be completed until late 2026 at the earliest.

That left the two ships with no role - and nowhere to berth. The government was left with huge bills to dock the ships in Scotland, It investigated leasing them out but could not find anyone willing to do so.      
Both ships, which will add 40% to freight capacity between Tasmania and mainland Australia, were originally due to be delivered to Tasmania in late 2024.

Former minister for infrastructure and transport Michael Ferguson resigned ahead of a no-confidence motion over his handling of the saga - but he remains a member of the government. 

The former TT-Line chairman Michael Grainger and chief executive Bernard Dwyer also left the company. 

Earlier this month, the government revealed one of the projects central to the cost blowouts and delays - the construction of the new berth - had blown out by over $100 million on the most recent estimate. 

Initially quoted at $90 million prior to 2024, the berth construction cost was estimated at $375 million last year, and that figure has now been revised to $495 million.

Last week, the flailing Tasmanian Government revealed that both new ships have issues with their LNG (liquefied natural gas) systems.

The state’s Minister for Transport Eric Abetz said TT-Line has advised the problems will “take some time” to fix, and will again delay the duo of vessels’ arrival in Australia from Finland.

"RMC has advised TT-Line that the issue needs further assessment and rectification, and as a result Spirit IV will not depart for Australia until the work is completed," Abetz said.

"The government is awaiting further details in relation to a new expected departure date, but it is understood that this work will take some time."

Abetz said that any necessary repair costs will be covered under warranty with RMC, and that TT-Line had representatives on the ground in Finland and was engaging with the company.

Abetz had previously said in June last year: “All going well, we expect that the first of the new ships will be ready for delivery in Q3 of 2024, commencing its journey to Tasmania not long after.”

That proved wildly optimistic.

 
Repairs are also being made after a gas bottle was sucked from the seabed into the thrusters of one of the new ferries during testing

The LNG blow has added to delays previously caused by port construction blowouts and bad weather, delivering a sizeable hit to the Tasmanian tourism economy and anger among those exporting goods from the island state.

 It has also sparked comments that Tasmania should change its slogan to "State of Inertia" and has been described by an opposition MP as "the biggest infrastructure stuff up in Tasmania's history".    

Thanks Brexit: chaos continues at British port

Thousands of travellers have spent the past two days stuck in queues at the British port of Dover.

British Home Secretary Cruella Braverman denied that post-Brexit checks were to blame for the chaos, even though such delays were rare when Britain was part of the EU.

Despite extra sailings having been put in place, P&O Ferries said on Sunday afternoon that coaches arriving at the cruise terminal would be likely face a total wait of over 10 hours owing to the border formalities required and a lack of border staff.

Angry customers bombarded ferry companies and the port with complaints, British media reported.

The port said ferry companies received 15% more coach bookings for the Easter period than had been expected.

Boarding coachloads of passengers is much slower than boarding cars

Speaking on Sky News, Braverman said operations at borders crossings had been “very good” since Britain exited the EU.

“I don’t think that’s fair to say that this has been an adverse effect of Brexit,” she said. “We’ve had many years now since leaving the European Union and there’s been, on the whole, very good operations and processes at the border.

“At acute times where there is a lot of pressure crossing the Channel, whether that’s on tunnel or ferries, then I think there’s always going to be a backup. I just urge everybody to be a bit patient while the ferry companies work their way through the backlog.”

Later, speaking to the BBC, Braverman denied the situation at Dover would repeat itself and blamed “bad weather” and heavier than expected bookings.

She was lambasted by opposition politicians for being "out of touch".

Now Britain has left the EU, French officials need to do individual passport checks, which wer not needed before.

Caroline Lucas, a Greens Party MP, described Braverman as being “on another planet as usual”.