Mooring Madness 1

I WRITE AS A mooring owner in Purau Bay Lyttelton and member of Purau Moorings Association Inc. (PMA Inc ) in response to Captain Jim Dilley’s letter Method in the Madness. PMA is a group of 90-plus mooring owners in Purau Bay. Time was when selling a swing mooring you advertised it, you had a yarn to the prospective buyer and agreed on a price. The bookkeepers at Ecan did the paperwork, job done. Not so any more.

I don’t understand the legalities of these new measures that is for others to determine. What annoys me most is the vehicle which was used to introduce them, ie. a Navigation and Safety By Law Review. Mooring owners were ambushed good and proper. Meetings were held concerning the future management of moorings in 2013/14, one of which held at Purau I attended.

I note here some of the measures introduced are to some degree a result of points made by attendees at some of these meetings.

Mooring owners were sent a link to a draft copy of this stuff some months before it became law late 2016. I do not recall any mention about the buy/sell process of a swing mooring in the covering letter.

I did not look at it primarily because I am all for Navigation and Safety and any changes would surely be beneficial such was the trust I had in the individuals formulating this review.

Whether any further consultation took place after the draft was released I don’t know. Would it have made any difference? Were these new rules actually debated by the Regional Council, or were they voted in on the basis of a recommendation put forward by the Harbour Master’s office?

I understood that moorings within a designated area were under a common resource consent. When did this evolve into an “authority?” Were mooring owners advised of the change in status and any possible ramifications?

I need someone to explain clearly to me what the Harbourmaster’s involvement in the purchase/sale process of a swing mooring has to do with Navigation and Safety. The word “nothing” comes to my mind.

There are a number of other new rules which I am pretty uncomfortable with, particularly ones concerning the seizure or cancellation of an authority.

Is it right for Captain Dilley to have such authority over someone’s property? A salutary lesson here to all mooring owners or owners of any other coastal structures. If you hear murmurs from your Regional Council about any reform be very wary. If caught in its formative stage you may be able to stop it. On a more positive note, I consider from practical experience the 10

year block inspection to be good legislation. I recognise Captain Dilley’s efforts in making more designated mooring areas available in the Canterbury region.