Licensing crackdown call for hoon jetskiers
Water sports clubs are calling for a licencing crackdown on rogue jetski riders “fanging around” bay and peninsula beaches and putting others at risk.
South East
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Water sports clubs are calling for a licencing crackdown on rogue jetski riders “fanging around” bay and peninsula beaches and putting others at risk.
Bogan riders are “fanging around” beaches and giving responsible riders a bad reputation, the president of the Victorian Jetski Club said.
And with summer fast approaching, fears are mounting about clashes between watercraft and beachgoers at popular tourist destinations including Rye and Safety beaches.
Safety Beach Sailing Club member Rob Campbell said jetskis were like “missiles” and some young sailors had been “tipped out” of boats by waves caused by rowdy riders.
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He said the only answer was separate zones for jetskis and other beach and bay users.
“Zones would be awesome,” he said.
Victorian Jetski Club president James Chaanine called for tougher licencing and a crackdown on jetski hoons ahead of the busy summer period.
“The way they are handing out jetski licences is a joke,” he said.
Mr Chaanine told a forum hosted by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council that “the whole boating industry needs a good shake-up”, warning many boat owners were also doing the wrong thing.
Fellow Victorian Jetski Club member George Marquis said tougher policing was needed to deal with the culprits.
“We have a group of people that shun the rules. We need those rules to be applied to them,” he said.
Fed-up residents told the forum that noise caused by jetskis had become a blight on the area.
Cr Antonella Celi, who has called for a crackdown on jetski hoons, said the rogue element must be urgently dealt with.
“There’s an element of the (jetski) community that are causing all of us an issue,” she said.
The shire plans to conduct a major enforcement campaign on jetski hoons at Rye and Safety Beach and push authorities, including police and Parks Victoria, to take tougher action.
Another forum on the issue will be held at Rye Civic Hall on December 10 at 6.30pm.
Council will receive a report on the submissions before deciding on its position.
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