Join thousands of others by signing this petition to object to a new schedule of fees for boat and personal watercraft (PWC) registrations and licences, and boat moorings in NSW.
Despite reaping the revenue rewards of increased participation through extra licences and registrations over the past few years, Transport for NSW Maritime wants to make what are already the highest boating fees in the nation, even higher. This is being done by ignoring CPI and instead applying multiples of CPI across the board to boating fees.
BIA says the massive disparity in boating licence fees in NSW compared to the neighbouring States of Queensland and Victoria is alarming.
For example, a 10-year licence fee for a PWC in NSW already eclipses $1000 and the new proposal aims to increase that to almost $2000. This compares to $124 for a lifetime licence for a PWC in Queensland, and $45 for an annual licence in Victoria. In addition, Queensland and Victoria have chosen to hold fees as they are and to not apply CPI.
Meanwhile a licence in Queensland is $124 for either a boat or a PWC, and that is a one-off fee for life. In NSW a licence will range from $77 to $245 a year.
Join this petition to tell the NSW Government to ditch the tax hike on boaters and force Transport for NSW to:
Abandon its move to increase boating fees beyond CPI that was developed behind closed doors and without appropriate consultation.
Case study: Ethan is a bright, young apprentice marine mechanic in Northwestern Sydney. He is worried the higher licence and registration fees for boats and skis will discourage people from the sport, potentially leading to job losses across the hundreds of boating businesses that support waterway users.
"I love being a marine mechanic and it is actually quite hard to get an apprenticeship in this area. If there is a downturn in the sales of boats and jetskis because of the higher fees, then there will be fewer opportunities for boat shops to employ apprentices like me." Ethan, Northwest Sydney.
This Boating Industry Association Ltd petition calls upon the Minister for Transport to intervene and force Transport for NSW to reset the full schedule of fees impacting licences, registrations and moorings to be no more than CPI adjusted; and to ensure appropriate consultation in such matters into the future.