Gold Coast jet ski rider slammed for being ‘careless’ with safety of four-year-old child

Safety officials have spoken out after discovering a four-year-old being carried on a jet ski on the Gold Coast in a manner they say was ‘almost incomprehensible’.

SAFETY officials have spoken of their shock after discovering a four-year-old with no lifejacket being carried on a jet ski driven by an unlicensed rider.

The child was spotted by Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) officers who intercepted the jet ski on the Gold Coast on Australia Day.

“It is almost incomprehensible people could be so careless with the safety of children when boating,” Maritime Safety Queensland acting general manager Andrew Mahon said.

“Small children are the most at risk when accidents happen on the water, even as simple as being tipped out of a vessel.

“I can’t overemphasise how important it is to follow the lifejacket safety rules every time you go out on the water, particularly when it comes to children.”

Mr Mahon said not wearing a lifejacket was one of the top five risk factors for fatal boating accidents.

“Life jackets are like seatbelts. If you’re not wearing a lifejacket it can’t save you,” he said.

A four-year-old child being carried on a jet ski without a lifejacket on the Gold Coast on Australia Day. Picture: MSQ

The jet ski was one of 959 vessels inspected by MSQ during a safety blitz across South East Queensland in December and January.

Of those, 47 per cent were found to be non-compliant with safety regulations in some way.

Of 662 vessels on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast intercepted during the blitz, one in five was found to be breaching lifejacket rules.

MSQ said 259 people had drowned in boating incidents in Queensland between 1992 and 2020. Only 15 were known to have been wearing life jackets.

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Originally published as Gold Coast jet ski rider slammed for being ‘careless’ with safety of four-year-old child