Lifejacket rule needs law change so council can keep issuing tickets

Auckland Council's new rule on wearing lifejackets in small boats kicks in at Labour Weekend but needs a law change before it can be enforced with the issuing of tickets.

At present its Navigation Safety Bylaw requires only that flotation devices be carried on small boats for everyone in times of heightened risk and when directed by the skipper.

Failure to comply risks a $200 fine.

But from October 25, a bylaw change affecting boats 6m and under makes wearing lifejackets mandatory.

"Everyone must wear a lifejacket but if the skipper feels it's safe to remove it, they can," said councillor Calum Penrose, who headed the bylaw review. He said the new rule allowed people to swim off their boats in calm conditions or to sleep on board without the discomfort of wearing a lifejacket.

But once the new bylaw came in, the council would lose its powers under the old bylaw to issue infringement fines and could not enforce it.

Mr Penrose said the Minister of Transport was being asked to review the Maritime Transport Act so the council could issue tickets.

"But the focus of this bylaw is not about handing out tickets but ensuring people are safe out on the water.

"We are encouraging self-regulation so that skippers understand that they are responsible for keeping themselves and their passengers safe and to minimise the risk of preventable injury and drowning."

Mr Penrose said the council was developing an awareness programme that included new signage at every boat ramp in the region.

The boating community, which had backed skippers' discretion, had offered to help, and WaterSafe Auckland was gearing up its programmes.

Coastguard Boating Education general manager Neil Murray said the council's bylaw was a "step in the right direction".

The National Pleasure Boat Safety Forum has recommended to the minister that the national regulations should be amended for compulsory lifejacket-wearing on small boats, subject to the skippers' discretion.