Policy Platform of the Boating Industries Alliance Australia
Policy Platform of the Boating Industries Alliance Australia
Why is Recreational Boating Important?
Culturally
Australians have a natural affinity with the water and
boating. Our population is clustered around our
coastline and inland waterways and boating in some
form touches almost all Australians
Boating creates immersion in the natural environment
and engenders responsibility and respect for our
country and our environment
Sailing is one of Australia’s most successful (and cost
effective per medal achieved) Olympic sports and is
highly recognised as a source of national pride and
interest
Politically
Boating is a recreational pastime enjoyed by millions
of Australians from diverse geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Boaters are passionate
about their lifestyle but have not taken advocacy
pathways to address their concerns and erosion of
their rights, access and facilities that support their
recreation
Boating regulation, access and infrastructure is
covered by Federal, State and Local government
regulators and budget decisions. Within each
constituency there are a significant number of
voters with boating interests that will be affected by
candidate policies that affect their lifestyle
Inland waterways, estuaries and coastal cruising
grounds have been a political battleground as
environment groups seek to leverage governments
to shut down areas from human access. These
decisions can be politically motivated without science
or evidence basis, and can lead to poorer outcomes
for the environment with lack of stewardship.
Mobilisation of recreational boating interests can tip
the balance of political influence.
Economically
The Boating Industry contributes $8bn annually to
the Australian Economy, with in excess of $1bn each
year in export business
The Boating Industry consists of over 2,500
businesses, directly employing 27,000 Australians
around the nation in a range of roles in all capital
cities and across regional Australia
Recreational Boating contributes significantly to
domestic tourism, leisure and recreational spending,
creating significant new employment opportunities
and enhancing local communities
Socially
There are 850,000 registered boats in Australia and
innumerable small craft and paddlecraft that don’t
require registration. Over 1 Million people have
boat licences and an estimated 5 Million people go
boating in Australia each year making it one of the
most popular forms of recreation in the country
Boating is socially engaging and brings together
friends and family in a healthy outdoor lifestyle
Boating is diverse and egalitarian. There is a boat
to suit everyone’s needs regardless of age, wealth
or ability. From kayaks, sailing dinghies and tinnies
to racing yachts, luxury cruisers and everything in
between, boating is accessible to all Australians
The Boating Industry, including marinas and export
programmes, provides career opportunities across
Australia and is accessible via boating education
programmes within schools and in centres of higher
learning
The I Boat & I Vote campaign provides the
opportunity for political parties and candidates to
demonstrate their support for those who participate
in the many forms of boating lifestyle.
The Policy Pillars of I Boat and I Vote
1. Boating Safety and education
1.1 Education in preference to Regulation. Boating safety
education should start in schools and continue
throughout all stages of life via community programmes
1.2 Use positive messages to promote safety, encourage
all boaters to be prepared for, understand and safely
manage risks
1.3 Develop programs to make wearing of lifejackets
a voluntary but natural part of going boating, with
reinforcement of messages via education initiatives and
recreational boating ambassadors, with cognisance of
demographics
1.4 Implement regulation only where statistical evidence
clearly identifies a problem and where educational
strategies have been exhausted.
1.5 Establish a national fund for the maintenance dredging
of coastal bars and channels to provide safe access to
coastal boating havens
2. Access and Infrastructure
2.1 Recognise recreational boaters as partners in the
management of waterways and promote access to all
coastal and inland waterways
2.2 Marine Reserve and Marine Park determinations to be
objectively science based and not to arbitrarily restrict
access for recreational boaters and fishers
2.3 Provide Federal, State and Local Government funding
(as applicable) for investment in the provision and
maintenance of boat ramps; with parking, jetties and
floating pontoons in concert with on-shore facilities to
create boating destinations, including visitor moorings
4. Industry and boater community support
4.1 Provide funding and secretariat for the establishment
and operation of a Recreational Safe Boating Ministerial
Advisory Council charged with the responsibility of
tracking progress against these policy outcomes
4.2 Provide funding for the annual collection and analysis of
statistics relating to boating safety and incidents, boat
registrations, boat storage and movements, marinas,
boat imports and exports, local manufacturing and
boater behaviour, including economic activity with regard
to tourism spend
4.3 Provide regulatory and enforcement support to
ensure consistency with regulations as they apply to
imported vessels and their associated equipment (both
commercially and privately) to ensure compliance with
recognised standards and environmental regulations
4.4 Provide funding, via boat registration mechanism, for
industry and boater education and support with regard
to vessel and trailer compliance and ongoing safety
inspection
4.5 Provide R&D grants and supporting financial measures
to promote innovation and development of the
manufacturing of boats and components in Australia
4.6 Provide funding for national boating and watersports
education and safety awareness within schools and via
community programs
3. Regulatory Reform
3.1 Deliver consistency of recreational boating and boating
industry regulation via national harmonisation of boating
regulation and administration including:
•
National boater licensing, recognising tourism
impacts
•
National vessel register, to include HIN and ABP
registers
•
National recreational vessel and boat road trailer
standards, recognising international industry best
practice and global standards
•
National enforcement of standards via education
and inspections to include all imported vessels and
trailers
3.2 Engage with industry and developers to rationalise
marine planning processes to encourage and facilitate
private investment in boating infrastructure
funding requirements
The Government funding requirements to
implement these policies are minimal compared
to the benefits to the Australian population.
National boating and watersports
safety and education
Access and infrastructure
Government funding to engage all levels of education
and community awareness programmes to be delivered
locally based on a national campaign with focus on
safety and environmental enhancement, education and
boating opportunities promotion. To provide initial boating
experience and instruction for all year 3-10 students with
access to water-based activities and inflatable lifejackets as
a key part of the curriculum
Active and ongoing assessment of access and infrastructure
requirements with requirement to fund safety improvement
works as priority within 6 months of identification and general
maintenance activities as required and within 12 months of
identification. Funding derived from boater facilities levy
contributions to be triple matched by State Governments
over period of 10 years to ensure upgrade to all existing
facilities and development of new facilities to match
expectations and requirements of 5 million active boaters
Budget: $30 Million per annum
Budget: $30 Million per annum
Recreational Safe Boating Ministerial
Advisory Council
Industry and boater annual
statistics program
Funding to support new National Government office with
focus on waterways and boating, as distinct from transport,
infrastructure, environment with Parliamentary Secretary
and necessary support staff, to facilitate constitution and
management of Ministerial Advisory Council, with resources
to hold 4 meetings per year and relevant follow-up activities
To deliver annual, year-on-year industry and boater data, to
support decision making regarding industry and government
investment, assessment of effectiveness of safety education
programmes and to identify areas for further support and
improvement within the community
Budget: $100K per annum
Budget: $500,000 per annum
Vessel regulatory and standards enforcement
Industry R&D support
Active support of State and Federal maritime agencies and
other agencies charged with product inspection, to include
Customs and Worksafe initiatives. Budget includes, human
resource requirement for dedicated team in each major port
and within maritime safety education units
Industry-wide, dedicated R&D grant funding targeted at micro
businesses/SMEs based on easy-to-apply principles that
will provide for good levels of engagement of businesses,
with eventual move onto tax credit-style on-going product
development and manufacture funding support.
Budget: $2 Million per annum
Budget: $25 Million per annum
Marine House,
300 Morphett St, Adelaide, SA 5000
Ph: (08) 8212 6207
E: [email protected]
www.biaa.com.au