| Porthole 18 Sep 18

LAST week’s Australian Cruise Association conference in Broome featured a presentation from Ports Australia ceo Mike Gallacher.

Gallacher’s name may be familiar to readers from NSW, because until about a year ago he was a state politician and a former Minister for Police and Emergency Services.

Prior to entering politics in 1996 he was a police officer, and quipped that every step in his career so far had involved the letter “P”.

“I’ve been in the Police, Politics and now Ports,” he said.

“There are only a couple of options left for the next step – Prostitution and the Priesthood…there’s still time,” Gallacher quipped.

He also noted that he had been a cruise addict from a very young age, having taken his first cruise as a toddler – when his family emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland.

“I cruised to Australia for a very cheap fare – just ten pounds,” he said.

Standards on cruise voyages have certainly improved since then, however, because on that first voyage “we thought salmonella was just the name of a pasta dish”.