YASMIN Catley said the tragic loss of another rock fisher’s life at Snapper Point yesterday could have been prevented.
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The Swansea MP today renewed her attack on the state government over what she described as its failure to legislate for the mandatory wearing of life jackets for rock fishers in NSW.
Her comments follow the death of a woman, 43, who was washed off rocks into the surf while fishing with her husband at Snapper Point on Wednesday.
The woman was pulled from the water by lifeguards but could not be revived.
“Rock fishing is one of the most dangerous sports, and Snapper Point is notoriously deadly, with now 17 deaths since 2008,” Ms Catley said.
“For the last two years, I have been calling on the Minister [for Emergency Services, Troy Grant] to prevent rock fishing deaths at Snapper Point by making life jackets mandatory.”
The death occurred as the state government continues to “review the data and feedback” from its 12-month trial of mandatory life jackets for rock fishers in the Randwick local government area.
The trial had support from both sides of parliament.
In responding to Ms Catley’s criticism in November of the government’s handling of the rock fishing issue, Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Scot MacDonald, told the Lakes Mail the government had been “consistent and thorough”.
“The NSW government committed to a trial and we’ve done that. The NSW government also committed to evaluate the implementation of the [Rock Fishing Safety] Act and that’s what it’s doing now,” Mr MacDonald said.
“If the legislation is going to be extended to communities such as Snapper Point, the government wants to ensure it is implemented appropriately to be successful.”
To the community, it seems simple enough: make life jackets compulsory for all rock fishers in NSW now, then tinker later with any peripheral and supplementary matters if necessary.
“We know that efforts to reduce rock fishing deaths thus far, including education campaigns, have been ineffective,” Ms Catley said.
“The reality is, life jackets are the most effective means of ensuring a successful rescue, rather than retrieval.
“The ugly truth is that this was a preventable tragedy.”
Feedback on the life jacket trial is open on the Have Your Say website until January 19.
