Call for community to act in wake of fatalities

Not one more fatality on the lakes and rivers of the Queenstown Lakes District should have to be stomached by the community, Queenstown Lakes District Council chief executive Duncan Field said.

“We are now faced with the worst accident record on our waterways in this district for 25 years and each and every one of those accidents was avoidable,” Mr Field said.
The losses on waterways around the country were “a national disgrace” he said.

With two fulltime harbour masters, 12 wardens patrolling the district during summer, safety signage at all waterways facilities the Queenstown Lakes District Council was putting the onus back on the community.

“It is absolutely tragic that we are seeing what can only be described as complacency on our waterways but complacency is lethal,” QLDC harbourmaster Marty Black said.
By summer’s end the Council hoped to have introduced its reviewed bylaw which would make it compulsory for anyone on a boat to wear a lifejacket at all times in the district but the Council was calling on all waterway users to voluntarily adopt the rule from today.

“It does not matter how experienced you are, if you value your life and that of your passengers you should not even consider stepping onto a boat without a securely fastened life jacket,” Mr Black said.

This week’s tragic fatalities, on top of a fatality on the Matukituki River and a drowning at Lake Hawea should not be allowed to be in vain.

“If that doesn’t stop even experienced boaties in their tracks and make them rethink their approach to water safety then nothing will,” Mr Field said.

It was time for the community to lift its game.

“There are a number of good ideas that will take time to implement such as boat registration but there are two things that can be done right now,” he said.
Always wear a life jacket and know and abide by the basic boating rules.

Staff on patrol continued to be shocked by the lack of safety and compliance with the simple safety rules.
“I can talk to a hundred people in a day and I simply cannot believe the continuing complacency. It’s truly galling because it’s the families that have to pick up the pieces at the end of the day,” Mr Black said.

The council had the ability to issue an instant $500 fine.

“Our preference has always been to educate people, that’s far more important but with vast areas of water we can’t always be everywhere at once, it’s up to the community to sort this out and take some responsibility,” Mr Black said.
Weather in the area meant congestion on the waterways had not been an issue.

‘It’s not the number of people, it’s the actions of those that are getting out there. For each of the fatalities we have had to endure, we have seen countless other incidents that could have easily ended in further tragedy,” Mr Black said.
The Council now hoped for an incident-free remainder of the holiday period.