June 2010 - Boating Industry Association of NSW

Why does Marine Rescue NSW
need a funding levy from boaties?
by Ken McManus ESM,
Marketing & Media, Marine Rescue NSW
There has been much debate about this since the NSW
government announced on 7 May, a proposal for a Marine
Rescue Levy of $7.50 on all Boat Drivers Licences and
Boat Registrations.
Some have objected to what they describe as a ‘tax grab’
and ‘extra revenue for NSW Treasury’. Others have raised
the spectre of trust, or lack of it, in the process of how the
government will administer the levy and whether the $7.50
will actually get to Marine Rescue NSW.
It is not a ‘tax grab’. This is not extra revenue for NSW
Treasury and this is clear in the Discussion Paper provided
at www.maritime.nsw.gov.au
All people who have an interest in boating should go to
this site, read the paper and make an informed comment
about the proposed levy by the deadline of June 18. Even
if this deadline has passed by the time you read this, the
information is essential to better understanding the Marine
Rescue Levy.
This is a levy that will go wholly to Marine Rescue NSW to
ensure the sustainability and future of volunteer marine rescue
services for the 450,000 holders of boat licences in NSW who
use the 220,000 registered boats in NSW waters.
Incidentally, the NSW Maritime data shows that some
85% of all registered boats are registered to owners in coastal
areas. Of the remainder around half intend to go boating on
the coast at some time and a significant proportion do their
fresh water boating on the Murray River and the lakes of the
Snowy Mountains.
The Discussion Paper clearly states (bold face emphasis
is mine):
“If a rescue levy was introduced all funds raised would
be passed directly to Emergency Management NSW for
distribution in full to Marine Rescue NSW. The levy would
be indexed to keep pace with inflation. There would be full
accountability each year for all funds raised from the rescue
levy.”
I’m just your average volunteer who happens to have had
a career in marketing, and to me, ‘in full’ is not marketing
spin but simply another way of saying that every cent of the
proposed Marine Rescue levy will go directly back to the
boating community through a well-equipped and well-trained
organisation that will deliver emergency search and rescue
services to people who get into trouble while boating. The
Marine Rescue Levy will enable us to replace an aging fleet
of more than 90 rescue vessels and continue to respond to
the calls for help that come in every week.
It will also allow us to examine how we can expand marine
rescue services to those important regional areas where
strategic partnerships can be established with land-based
emergency services to deliver a boating safety net to the
boaties who use those waters.
And ‘full accountability’ is also pretty clear and
unambiguous. Or is there a hidden meaning in those two
words that I can’t see. Of course not!
There are valid and satisfactory answers to all of the
questions raised so far but the fundamental issue that seems
to be missed is – Why is a levy needed?
Volunteer marine rescue organisations (VMROs) have
provided their services to the NSW boating
community delivered by several generations
of loyal men and women for over 70 years.
They have given their time, skills and
professionalism to a boating community
that has now grown so large that the cost of
providing these services is no longer sustainable
without a direct contribution from those who
benefit from the services – the boaties and their friends and
families.
Establishment of Marine Rescue NSW, the new, single
integrated volunteer marine rescue organisation, is a first step
to providing the same high standard of emergency service
for water users as the SES and RFS provide for emergencies
on land.
With the new single organisation it is now possible, for the
first time, to develop a strategic plan with the same rigorous,
proven criteria used by successful large and small businesses
throughout the world.
It will be possible to examine how we can expand our
services to increase safety in those important regional
areas.
“Why hasn’t this been done before?” comes another
uniformed and indignant cry from the back row.
Quite frankly, when there are three separate VMROs
competing for support and you’re up to your backside
desperately struggling to raise enough money to keep the
existing service going, the luxury of being able to develop
a single strategic plan is impossible, and the frustration of
being unable to plan ahead in a rigorous, businesslike manner
BIA of NSW LOGBOOK June 2010 - 7