SA Govt rejects marine park concerns.

SA Govt rejects marine park concerns. :

"The South Australian Government has dismissed warnings that the proposed Encounter Marine Park, south of Adelaide, will force small boat operators into dangerous conditions offshore."

The Government needs to ensure the coastline is for everyone. With a coastline our size there are two issues. There should never be the privileged boat users and the non privileged. Our coastline should be for everyone and recreational fishing has been a big part of our lives whether it has been in small boats, off the beaches, in large yachts or just off the jetty. For South Australians it has been a good and healthy part of our lives. The second issue is the boat safety. Our coastline is treacherous in poor conditions and should you put a boat of the coast and get stuck in rough seas we have very few safe places to shelter along the way and boats get towed to sea very easily by the big tides. There was talk at one stage of building a marina at Marino Rocks to help this situation, but the residents were opposed. Further south than that it is quite hard to find a haven in rough conditions and you are putting yourself at risk. This is an issue which is long overdue and it needs to be dealth with. Small boating is a very healthy part of our lifestyle and economy. If you read the article , it doesn't sound as though the Government is actually opposed to listening, but they do have a plan and issues need to be raised now and not after the passing of any relevant legislation.