Boating safety warning as warm weather arrives

0:00With the warmer weather, there will be plenty of people heading out onto the water this weekend, and with that comes increased risk and a warning for boaties. Joining me is New South Wales Maritime Executive Director Nicole Watts this afternoon. Hello to you Nicole. Well, look, the weather is amazing. It's been very warm over the last couple of days. People will be keen to get out onto the water, but they've got to be very careful, don't they? Absolutely. With the hot weather coming, we expect many voters to take to the waterways, which is wonderful. We're very privileged in New South Wales to have an abundance of waterways to enjoy, but please, we're asking put safety first. Check your vessel, check your equipment. Please check the forecast. Be aware of the weather conditions and really importantly, wear a life jacket. You tell us about life jackets, just how much of a difference can they make? Huge difference, Hugh. If I look at last financial year, there were 17 fatalities and 11 of

1:00those either weren't wearing a life jacket or were incorrectly wearing a life jacket. So, we know life jacket saves lives and they can't save you if they're not on and they're in the vessel. We've got pictures there of maritime officers out on the water. How often might we see those officers and what sort of penalties are there? So, if I reflect on the data from last year in September, we did over 4,000 inspections on the waterways. We issued 128 penalty notices and we get up with even more voting safety officers on the water this September. So, you will see us in an abundance on the waterways. And fines, is that something people should be prepared for if they don't have the right safety equipment? Look, at the end of the day, we want to make sure people are doing the right thing through education. It's the reason I'm speaking with you this afternoon, Hugh. But, if we do have to give a fine, unfortunately, we will. It's too important. We want to save lives and sometimes the messaging doesn't get through. So, I hope that our voters

2:00are listening today. They will heed the messaging. We just want to keep people safe. So, I bring people back to please check your vessel, check the conditions. Where a life jacket, the marine rescue app is also a brilliant tool. It takes a couple of minutes to log on to and it means our volunteers can locate you if you do come into danger on the waterways. And finally, I just want to remind people, particularly those skippers out there, you're the skipper, you're responsible for those on board. So, make sure you have a plan if something does go awry. Yeah, better to be safe than sorry, Nicole. What's thanks for joining us this afternoon. Thanks for having me.