Boating Western Australia Inc.
10 Years of service to the Western
Australian Boating Public
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Mission Statement BoatingWA
e-mail; secretary@boatingwa.com.au
Office
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Executive
Summary BWA
Position Paper on Minister’s Proposal for Compulsory Training and Licensing of
Recreational Boat Operators Overview Without
providing demonstrable evidence of need or likely benefits in support of her
proposed initiative to implement compulsory training for recreational boat
operators in Western Australia, the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure,
Alannah MacTiernan, is seeking to force changes which will make recreational
boat operator training mandatory by June 2004. In tandem, the Department for
Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) is pressing for a boat operator licensing
regime, in the face of an already existing and growing DPI register of
voluntarily trained operators. New
legislation to achieve these initiatives will be necessary, costly and will be
pre-emptive of national agreements entered into by this same Minister to achieve
a common national approach to boating safety. The Minister’s ill-conceived,
misinformed, non-consultative and pre-emptive tactics fall well outside the
‘responsible and accountable government’ approach promised by the Premier Dr
Geoff Gallop. Contrary
to the facts, the Minister is mistaken that such measures are needed to comply
with obligations accepted as a participant in the Australian Transport Council (ATC).
Her unsubstantiated claims that such initiatives will reduce the death and
injury rate in recreational boating are highly questionable when one examines
WA’s steadily improving safety record and reads her own Department’s Annual
Report from 2002/2003 which unequivocally states that,
“A downward trend indicates a reduction in the number of boating accidents and
an improvement in boating safety.” BWA
Position 1.
The
Minister’s assertion that there is an obligation on WA to implement compulsory
training is inaccurate and pre-emptive of nationally agreed initiatives,
including: a.
the
“National
Marine Safety Regulatory Regime”, signed by all States, Territories
and the Prime Minister in November 1997; and b.
the
“NMSC
Strategic Plan 2003 – 2008”, endorsed by the Australian Transport
Council including all States, Territories and the Commonwealth in May 2003.; 2.
The
Minister’s assertion that there is a need for WA to implement compulsory
training of boat operators, is: a.
presumptive
and not supported by any known demonstrable evidence of need or benefit. Indeed,
the initiatives are contrary to known data; and b.
contrary
to Premier Geoff Gallop’s commitment to ‘responsible and accountable
government’ which he states requires only fully justifiable legislation be
enacted. BWA
Recommendations BWA is confident that, given the keen sense of cooperation and
responsibility within the WA boating community, additional cost effective, or no
cost, initiatives can be developed in partnership with the recreational boating
communities and government to further improve marine safety in this State,
without the need for inappropriate and pre-emptive legislation. The research completed by BWA indicates that there is a decided lack of accident and incident analysis and a lack of any examination of the likely results of compulsory training. Indeed, the National Marine Safety Committee (NMSC) has been directed by the ATC in their Strategic Plan 2003 – 2008 to investigate nationally if there is a need for mandatory training of recreational boat operators. BWA Recommendations include (see full list and details on page 7): ·
Government
Initiatives to fulfil its community obligations by providing thoroughly
researched analysis of accidents, incidents and emergency responses including: o
the completion of the NMSC priority to determine whether training
should be mandatory; o
examination of potential benefits and risks associated with
mandatory training and licensing; o
improvement in compliance initiatives relative to existing
legislation; o
completion of the long-awaited amalgamation of existing marine
legislation into a single WA Marine Act and o
an increase in Government sponsored promotional activities and
direct involvement in voluntary training; ·
Agency
and Stakeholder Initiatives (including Government) to
identify appropriate quality and content improvements to existing initiatives
and strategies to meet and maintain nationally agreed guidelines and standards,
including: o
improvements to the BoatSmart course to ensure compliance with
National Guidelines for Boat Operator Competencies; o
improvements in general boater awareness; o
improvements in DPI public relations to foster an educative
approach and cooperation within the boating and marine community; o
review of local management systems to improve efficiency and levels
of enforcement and compliance under existing legislation and regulations; o
reinstatement of increased levels of marine patrols and visibility; o
encouragement by clubs and marinas for pen-holders to become
trained; o
development of appropriately targeted Government promotional
programs to increase the community’s desire to complete a course and create
the concept of social responsibility; o
continuation and expansion of industry promotional campaigns, with
funding contributions from government, to continue promotion of training to all
purchasers of new and used boats; o
improving participation, recognition and appreciation for the value
of youth training; o
encouraging family training with the introduction of discounts or
other incentive schemes to reduce costs to family groups; o
encouragement of local authorities to review their marine
facilities and their attitudes to marine safety, including launching, berthing
and assistance to sea rescue groups; o
implementation of boat ramp improvements, particularly in high-use
areas, to assist in the reduction of congestion often leading to accidents and
promoting inappropriate and unsafe behaviour; o
implementation of infringement training requirements for serious or
repeat offenders of existing laws; o
other initiatives to promote on-going and genuine consultative
forums for the development of appropriate marine safety initiatives throughout
the community. Conclusion BWA,
having examined this complex matter at some length, remains of the view that in
the absence of causal linkages leading to the proposed legislative and
management changes and demonstrable evidence of need and potential benefit, the
boating community represented by BWA remains unable to support the Minister’s
and DPI’s proposed initiatives for compulsory training and licensing. To ignore the demonstrated high
sense of responsibility within the WA boating community and WA’s exemplary
safety record, and to continue to pursue a non-existent obligation will
jeopardise a future common national approach to marine safety, as agreed between
the States, Territories and Commonwealth. Until it can be demonstrated to the contrary, and until a common national approach is effectively researched and achieved, BWA continues to support the improvement of existing voluntary initiatives, as identified in this Paper. |