“What’s the difference between a six-metre vessel and a 6.2-metre vessel?
Cranston said there had to be a size of vessel in the bylaw.
“The recognition is that as a boat gets bigger, it gets safer. At the end of the day, we had to pick a size.”
He compared life jackets to seatbelts in cars.
Ria brought up the subject of children swimming around the inner harbour boat ramp and queried how its prohibition could be enforced.
“All our tamariki at Kaiti swim at the boat ramp. It’s really dangerous. There are kids who are constantly there – especially in the peak of summer.”
It was the closest free waterway to the kids, with Kaiti Beach two kilometres away and town beaches further still, she said.
Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said there was an increased summer budget for Māori wardens and they would “encourage the kids to do their diving around the corner from where the dangerous part of the boat ramp is”.
The council had previously looked at jumping platforms, but further investigations were required.
There were other concepts such as having a safe designated bombing area for kids “if they choose to jump off the bridge, even though they’re not supposed to”.
A ladder had been provided for jumping on the side of the river.
Debbie Gregory said the council tried to consult with the public and she hoped there was not a reaction as there was with the Grey St controversy.
“I just hope the public take notice (with bylaws).”
Changes in the new bylaw include:
♦ Extend bylaw coverage to all navigable waters throughout the district
♦ Extend the life jacket requirement to require every person on board a recreational craft of six metres or less to wear a personal flotation device when a vessel is under way.
♦ Prohibit the discharge of cargo into navigable waters.
♦ Require vessels to be identified by either a name or number, visible on the vessel.
♦ Increase requirements for oil spill contingency plans, including notification to the council in advance.
♦ Require two operational means of communication to be carried on most vessels with some exceptions such as for sporting events and surfing.
♦ Increase safety for swimmers in open water by requiring swimmers 200 metres or more from shore to tow a safety float or wear a bright swim cap.
♦ Increase the available space to catch crayfish by reducing the craypot exclusion area within the harbour.
♦ Revoke historic exemptions on the Waiapu River (the Water Recreation (Waiapu River) Notice 1979), which exempted the area from speed rules. The area is now subject to the district-wide speed rules within the bylaw.
Public consultation occurred between April 14 and May 17.
The paper before councillors said feedback was mainly supportive.
