Auckland Councillors have given the thumbs up to new cruise ship moorings extending more than 80m out into the Waitemata harbour.
Cruise ship The Dawn Princess in Auckland in 2010. Photo: AFP
The decision ends a year-long delay begun when the freshly-elected mayor Phil Goff halted a similiar plan over concerns about its cost and intrusion into the harbour beyond Queens Wharf.
Technical reports triggered by that move have concluded the addition of two mooring platforms linked by a walkway
is the only way to accommodate increased visits by larger liners.
Mr Goff backed the new plan saying it would bring extra jobs for young people, through the growth in the cruise industry.
Councillor Linda Cooper described the decision as a dead rat that would have to be swallowed, but that the
city would risk becoming a backwater if it didn't move on the issue.
Consultant John Smith told councillors that without the moorings in the long run, the total number of cruise ships
and passenger visits would flat-line, rather than double.
The proposal will need a resource consent and the process will be open to public submissions.