BOATIES SET FOR DISASTER

BARRIE New must have felt a strong sense of déjà vu yesterday as, for the second time in a little over a year, he found himself warning about shocking behaviour from boaties on Gold Coast waterways.

With two deaths among the 103 incidents reported in local waters last year, officials seem puzzled about the reason for a spike in collisions, groundings and capsizes – up from 54 in 2015. They suggest it might boil down to an underreporting of incidents in the past.

But seasoned commercial skippers from the boat cruise companies put it down to a deterioration in boaties’ behaviour and in some instances outright arrogance. One said it was the worst he had seen in three decades on the water.

And Mr New, who last year labelled the Coast’s waterways as “absolutely nuts’’ and “10 times worse than the roads’’, blamed society. Crazy behaviour on the roads was being reflected in attitudes on the water, and some on jetskis were “lunatics’’.

Dangerous incidents have been occurring with unwanted regularity. Kids dice with death as they roar around in tinnies, chasing “likes’’ on social media while they film their stunts. Older skippers have been caught drunk or drugged.

It all points to an attitude that they can’t be caught, which reflects two factors – a lack of water police, and a contempt that stems from the ridiculous ease with which people are able to acquire a licence.

These must be addressed.