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General Category => General Forum => Topic started by: DazzaMc on January 30, 2009, 08:37:46 am



Title: Sounds tax plan opposed
Post by: DazzaMc on January 30, 2009, 08:37:46 am
The Marlborough District Council wants to ask commercial boat operators and ratepayers to help carry the cost of its health, safety and navigation obligations in the Marlborough Sounds.


The council must review any bylaws made before July 2003 to determine whether they are still necessary and meet the purpose they were designed for.

It has decided not to change the Navigation Bylaw 2000 which forces fast ferries to cut their speeds in the Sounds.

However, it is proposing changes to the Navigation Bylaw 2002 to meet what it has been told are statutory obligations to cover the cost of health, safety and navigation in the Marlborough Sounds.

The council had lobbied central government for help with those costs, arguing that the Marlborough Sounds were essentially an extension of the state highway system because of the Interislander ferries. Its request was rejected.

Councillor Graeme Taylor said the council was left with no option but to use a bylaw to impose charges to help cover the costs.

It was not considered feasible to recover fees from recreational harbour users as recreational boaties included such a variety of users.

Mr Taylor said recreational users' share of the costs would be drawn from general rates, but just how much this would affect rates was yet to be determined.

The proposal would see commercial users levied on a scale relating to gross tonnage, boat length and passenger numbers.

The new scale of proposed fees applying to commercial harbour users is included in the updated bylaw, Navigation Bylaw 2009.

The public has until March 27 to make submissions on the project, but commercial operators spoken to by The Express were not pleased about the proposal.

Chris Godsiff, the owner of Marlborough Travel, said commercial tourism companies were "sucking the bad end of a lemon" with tourism starting to drop but the costs on operators increasing.

New Zealand had a problem with limitations being put on qualified people while those who did not know port from starboard were left alone, he said.

"It gets very lopsided when only one part of the equation is paying for it (safety)," Mr Godsiff said.

Beachcomber Cruises owner Tony Crapper said he was opposed to commercial operators having to help pay for harbour safety.

"We are already paying enough fees for the likes of lights and the buoy system.

"From what I can gather they want to put more navigational lights in the Sounds which I doubt any commercial operators need as we have our own systems," he said.

Mark Evans, of Cougar Line, said the new bylaw had been coming a long time and was fought off a year or two ago.

"They were going to slam us with such high charges it would have made us commercially unviable.

"Since then there has been a review but there has been no paperwork from the council.

"I am on the board of the Marine Transport Association and it seems unfair to me that we should pay. The question is how much is it going to be?"

The issue will be discussed when the association next meets in February.



http://www.stuff.co.nz/4824420a6008.html



So - basically - the want the commercial operators to pay for the twits who dont "know port from starboard".

Somethings a bit wrong with that don't you reckon?

(https://cdn.smfboards.com/Smileys/smf/idiot2.gif)


Title: Re: Sounds tax plan opposed
Post by: Lovelee on January 30, 2009, 08:40:59 am
hmmm - theres many a 'commercial operator' who dont know port from starboard OR left from right  ::)


But yer right.

 ^-^


Title: Re: Sounds tax plan opposed
Post by: DazzaMc on January 30, 2009, 08:49:24 am
And here's a fine example....



New Zealand Police Alert 4:30pm 29 Jan 2009 Wellington

Location of incident: Kapiti Mana

Incident type: Overdue vessel

      
The following is a media release on behalf of Sergeant Jo Holden

***********

Search for overdue boaties, Mana Police Search and Rescue are disappointed with the continuing level of irresponsibility a few people in water craft continue to display, despite an ongoing comprehensive water safety publicity campaign aimed at increasing the need for preparedness when undertaking any water activity.

Police were notified this morning that 2 males aged 24 and 25 left Titahi Bay to go fishing in a small plastic dinghy on Wednesday evening; they had no lifejackets, no radio, no flares, no oars and no cellphone. Only one was wearing a wetsuit, and both were in cotton clothing.
Another boatie (coincidentally a family member) saw the pair near Green Point at around 8pm on Wednesday evening; other family members were concerned that the pair had not arrived home as they intended on Wednesday night, but it was not until the next morning that Police Search and Rescue were notified they were overdue.

The Westpac helicopter was preparing to undertake a shoreline search by air, and a more comprehensive Search was being planned when one of the overdue men contacted a family member from the shore.

The 20hp outboard motor on the dinghy had failed, and they had drifted shore at about 10pm. They had no means of communicating their predicament, and in the morning, one of the pair walked about 2 hours to the sewer treatment plant; he rang home and asked to be picked up, unaware of the Search preparations that were already underway to find them.

A private boat that belonged to a family friend located the dinghy and the other male at Rock Point and returned both to Titahi Bay later in the morning.

Both men were uncooperative and refused to speak to Police.


Title: Re: Sounds tax plan opposed
Post by: Lovelee on January 30, 2009, 01:51:36 pm
Yes I saw that - I bet those blokes have been saying the same thing as everyone else.

DUMBARSES!!


No wonder they wouldnt co operate with the authorities (http://img320.imageshack.us/img320/1429/k0158qw.gif)