Port workers at Western Australia's Kimberley Ports Authority walked off the job last Friday after failing to reach an agreement on wages and conditions, leaving cruise ships stranded offshore and forcing luxury passengers to disembark via makeshift slipways. The two-week strike has exposed a sharp divide: while tourists pay premium prices for remote Kimberley tours, the workers who service their vessels earn the lowest tradesman rates of any port authority in the state.
Two livestock ships and seven cruise boats were scheduled to berth at the port this week, with another 12 vessels due at the adjacent privately owned floating jetty. The luxury cruiser Le Jacques Cartier, carrying hundreds of passengers, remained offshore Tuesday morning instead of docking at the main wharf. Passengers were ferried to shore using the ship's tenders.
Workers Demand Fair Compensation
The Maritime Union of Australia has been negotiating a new enterprise agreement with the Kimberley Ports Authority since October last year. MUA WA branch secretary Will Tracey didn't mince words about the dispute's core issue. "Broome tradesmen are paid the lowest rates for tradesmen at port authorities in the state," he said. "The cost of living has only increased since the last agreement was done and there should be a reflection of that within the Broome area allowance, which compensates for the excessive cost of living across the Kimberley."
The strike's justification rests on a stark economic reality: workers maintaining critical infrastructure in one of Australia's most expensive regions are compensated less than their counterparts elsewhere in the state. That gap has widened as living costs have climbed.
Tourism Industry Caught in Crossfire
Discovery One Cruises owner Erie Astrup said her crews have been forced to load provisions from the slipway near the wharf instead of relying on stevedores and cranes. "I support the negotiations that are going on but it really does have a huge knock-on effect for the whole community, all the tourism industry, the small businesses," she said, adding, "And that can feel a bit unfair and challenging for many because it's a short tourism season in the Kimberley."
It remains unclear how larger cruise boats, some carrying up to 300 people, will manage the massive quantities of food and fuel required for voyages. Ponant Explorations CEO Deb Corbett said the company was making necessary arrangements to manage Le Jacques Cartier's schedule and would update guests directly.
Shayne Murray, who runs a bus company servicing cruise boats and serves as president of Cruise Broome, acknowledged the slipway transfers were "not ideal" but working well with favorable tides. "It [the strike action] affects everyone, from the hotels to planes, the people who pay a lot of money for these cruises," he said.
Liberal MLC Neil Thomson called the situation "so embarrassing for our state to have people disembarking via the slipway rather than on the new multi-million dollar port facility" in an online post.
Conciliation Underway
The Kimberley Ports Authority said in a statement it would continue to meet with employees and the union and "bargain in good faith" to resolve outstanding items. The Fair Work Commission is now assisting in conciliation, with parties scheduled to meet again tomorrow.
The strike affects both of the port's terminals, halting stevedoring and maintenance operations that keep the facility running.
Why This Matters:
The Broome port dispute crystallizes a broader tension in Australia's regional economies: workers who maintain infrastructure enabling high-value tourism and export industries are often paid less than urban counterparts while facing higher living costs. The Maritime Union's assertion that Broome tradesmen receive the state's lowest port authority wages, despite the Kimberley's notoriously expensive cost of living, raises questions about how regional workers share in the economic benefits they help generate. As the Fair Work Commission steps in, the outcome will signal whether collective bargaining can address wage disparities that leave essential workers struggling in boom regions. The strike's ripple effects through Broome's tourism sector—from cruise operators to bus companies to hotels—demonstrate how unresolved labor disputes don't just affect workers and employers, but entire communities dependent on fair, functioning workplace agreements.