Boaties unhappy with registration plan

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34072, 9 February 1976, Page 5

Boaties unhappy with registration plan

Z. Press Association) ( WELLINGTON. The Minister of Transport (Mr McLachlan) will meet yachting offic-i ials to discuss the Gov-: ernment’s draft plan for hoat registration. The Ministry's proposed; scheme has not been well' received by many organisations. and this may have prompted the meeting between the Minister and the president of the Yachting Federation (Mr Harry Julian). Organisations have expressed their disapproval of the scheme, which proposes an initial registration fee of; S 3 and an annual fee of S2. It would be compulsory for owners to register boats: capable of doing 10 knots or more, whether they are members of clubs or not. j A spokesman for the Minister confirmed that the meeting was set down; for February 18. and that it; had been organised at the! federation's request. A draft proposal of the scheme has been sent to all sports and other bodies, and they have been given until May 31 to make submissions to the Ministry on the scheme. Mr Julian said the federation's policy, initially! set when registration was; proposed about 15 years!

( ago, was to support Govern-. ;ment legislation for com-> pulsory identification of all; I boats. However, the federation is; opposed to the Government’s; participation in such a: scheme. “We would hope that the! ; responsible national organisations would be able to! icontrol their own members.; 1 If there is a sufficient number of craft which are not; members of clubs it may be: necessarv to draft legislation ‘ for them which would be; completely divorced from; the club set up,” he said. For smaller boats the federation supports the use of 1 numbers for identification, 1 but Mr Julian said larger boats should carry the name; of the craft, its port of reg-1 istration, and the initials of the club to which it! belonged. The scheme has been criti-j cised by the president of the Wellington Powerboat Racing Organisation (Mr Brian Treen). : Mr Treen asked what the scheme would achieve. Car registration had not stopped motor accidents, he said. "How would this be policed? On the road we have traffic officers but on the water we are only honorary; harbour board wardens who .cannot be expected to be out all the time. i “Therefore, someone is go-1

ing to have to pay people to; act in an official capacity and. I they must have a fast boat,”! he said. If the usual system of “user pays” applied then I the cost of registration had to rise. i “Cars are still stolen—registration is not going to stop the stealing.” he said. ' “The ‘can’t happen to me attitude’ on the water is not going to stop just because a I boat is registered. People still go to sea without the proper gear, including life-jackets and flares.” Mr Treen said the powerboat organisations had set 'tough safety standards, to (which race competitors had 'to adhere, or be left out of the races. ; “We did it for their sake: unless they complied with our safety requirements they (could not race. They had to go out and buy equipment 'like life-jackets and flares, i and now they have it for a( lifetime. “If we could only educate the public to these rules and regulations we would be right. “The number of accidents ;on the water every year does not warrant this registration.” Mr Treen predicted the; ; scheme would only “get the ' boaties backs up.” Several other organisations.! including the Federation of! Trailer-Boat clubs, have al-; readv criticised- the cost ofi the scheme and its adminis-I itration by the Ministry. |