nswsailor said..
Well I meet the Hon. Adam Marshall, Minister for Tourism & Major Events at breakfast this morning. He first did the political thing and made a speech about Tourism in the regional areas out- side Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong. During question time I put to him brief details of Reg 17A. To put it mildly he was stunned! He at first thought the present Minster for RMS had done the deed but when it was explain that it was the previous Minster he was a lot more receptive [must be a story behind that somewhere!].

After the meeting I meet with Adam and fully explained the situation, especially the interpretation being put on Reg 17A by RMS staff. He expressed concern that this is effecting Regional Tourism and stated that he would take the matter to the NSW Cabinet. I urge him to have at least section (a) removed and a smaller definition of place in (b) included in the regulation. No timeline for this was indicated by Adam.

Now its crunch time for all of us. If you haven't contacted your local MP you need to do it now. Do it by phone, personal contact [best], or by email. The more MP's we can have telling their contacts in the Cabinet and Party rooms about this the better.Here is the guts of what you should put across.

Firstly part (a) of Reg 17A amounts to control of a citizen's right to free movement and use of private property. It is only being used to target cruising yachts whereas the Regulation applies to ALL VESSELS. It should be removed, this is non-negotiable.

Secondly part (b) of Reg 17A needs a definition of place added. It should not be Sydney Harbour or Pittwater/Hawkesbury River as the RMS staff are interpreting. It should be a place as defined by a name [eg Little Manley Bay, Sydney or Jerusalem Bay, Hawkesbury River] on a chart.The excuses that the RMS staff have given for this regulation are not reflected in that regulation and only appear to be "make up" to justify the regulation after the fact of passing it into law.

Make sure you take or send to your MP a copy of the regulation and the letters from McSweeney and Mitchell. I've added them here again for your convenience.

BlueMoon said..
It's clearly going to impact tourism revenue to all coastal areas, but I think the Clarence will be the hardest hit of all, as a major waterway destination, boats from down Sth, Sydney & Melbourne, may not have a great deal left of their allocated 90 days, by the time they get to the Clarence!. And with considering the need to transit Sth again through NSW, after the winter holiday(to The Whitsundays), I can see the Clarence losing out.

Ramona said..




Who is going to keep tabs on how many days these people have been at anchor? Agreed it's a dickhead regulation and will be impossible to enforce but it maybe used against individuals.