Authorities powerless to stop maritime squatters on Gold Coast’s Broadwater

AGGRESSIVE, stinky and stubborn, they’re the modern day pirates who refuse to pull up anchor and remove their “rusted eyesores” from the Broadwater.

Aerials Gold Coast : Wave Break Island , broadwater . Picture Mike Batterham

MODERN-day “pirates” have taken over the Broadwater and authorities appear to be powerless to stop them.

A legal loophole has allowed hundreds of boaties to drop anchor permanently in the Broadwater without fear of prosecution.
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The many boaties that live on the Broadwater have their whole lives on their vessels. Pic: David Clark

A Gold Coast boat dealer, who would only be known as Paul, said the “aggressive” vagrants were flouting the state’s laws by slightly moving their vessel every seven days without leaving the Broadwater.

The rules say anchored boats have to be relocated a minimum of 5.5km away every seven days to avoid causing pollution. Gold Coast Waterways Authority chief executive Hal Morris said 32 boaties were fined in the past year for exceeding the time limit, ­although he admitted there were more than 100 vessels permanently anchored in the waterway.

The maritime “squatters” dump sewage into the Broadwater. Pic by David Clark

To make matters worse, if water police manage to fine a boatie, authorities often have no permanent address to send the infringement notice.

Paul said recreational boaties were fed up with seeing people dump sewage into the water from the deck of “rusted eyesores”.

“They act like pirates,” he said. “Me and my wife were taking photos of them to show the waterways authority and they got very aggressive.

“I’m pretty well known around here, so if I used my full name they would attack my boats or worse.

“They are complete ferals.”

Have you noticed the boaties living on the Broadwater? Pic by David Clark

The Gold Coast Bulletin can reveal water police are not legally able to stop people living on the Broadwater if they move their vessels more than 5.5km every seven days.

Gold Coast Waterways Authority chief executive Hal Morris said he was aware of several disputes between weekend boaties and Broadwater “”.

“When we get to that point, we get water police to move them on,” he said.

“The water is there for people to enjoy but we need to work collaboratively with both parties to solve disputes.

The area around The Spit is inundated with house boats. Pic by David Clark

“The problem with people staying in one spot is they are tempted to tip their sewage into the water.

“It can create water quality issues, so we make sure they move every seven days.”

Gold Coast Tourism boss Martin Winter said the illegal boaties were not welcome.

“It has been a problem for a long time that people can stay as long as they like,’ he said.

“Whether they are campers on The Spit or boat users in Bums’ Bay, we need to ensure that these beautiful areas are not degraded.”