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Hi
Club Murray,
The Riverine Herald reported (Apr 2nd, 2004 attached), that a
report into wakeboarding effects on the River Murray, completed Feb
04 had not been released.
Local member for Rodney, Noel Maughan questioned why had the report
not been released.
Can you advise of any further action to date (12/10/2006)
Thank you
Clive
Clive, Thanks for the reminder.
We
actually asked the office of Noel Maughan back in May 2006, and they
said that they would let us know. They havn't, so we will follow up
with them.
Noel Maughan spoke to me just prior to the Victorian election on
25/11/06 to advise that he was retiring. & apologised for not being
able to be of great assistance, however he seemed very disturbed
about the current position of the "report", & hoped that he would
find the time to send further details, meanwhile we will endeavour
to contact David Wotton of the "River Murray Catchment Water
Management Board" to seek his assistance in running the original
study down.
Ed 28/11/06
To David Wotton
Chairman
River Murray Catchment Water Management Board.
Dear David,
Attached notes are self explanatory. Would it be possible for
you to obtain information on the report of the effect of
"wakeboarding" on the Murray
Ed 28-11-06
19/01/07 No reply
To the Editor,
Water usage and it's cost has had high media profile for some
months.
As water is an important asset, do all users pay the same for a
litre, or does industry get it cheaper than domestic users.
Also, why don't boat users, eg. speed boats, jet skis, pleasure
craft and house boats pay for water usage.
All powered boats on the Murray use water to cool their motors, and
flush bilges, with the resultant pollution returned to the river,
and house boats run their spas, showers etc.
Wouldn't a charge for this water usage be fair to everyone.
James
16th Dec 2007
Very good questions James.
We
should be able to obtain costs per megalitre for all states & users
& will advise .
I
do not know if the question of why boat users are not charged a
water usage levy has ever been asked, but will try to find out
Ed
19/01
From: Rob B 28/01/07
To: admin@clubmurray.com.au
Subject: are you serious?
dear clubmurray,
I was spurred to comment on your views on the river by an editorial
in the Advertiser (sat 27/jan/07).
As a skiier and wakeboarder you would apparently be surprised that i
read.. let alone take interest
in currrent affairs (if the advertiser should be complemented so
highly). but that's not the point... I
have lived and loved the river since i was born, and that's no
lie... To hang its woes on the activity
of boats and jet skiiers (as pathetic as they are) is ridiculous. It
disappoints me that in the current
(or lack there of... pun intended) plight of the river/lake murray,
of all things, boats get dragged into
the fray by... "intelligent river lovers who are monitoring the
levels, pollution and state of the river".
The river faces bigger problems than the et ski or your average ski
boat, given that last years bank
is a metre clear of the water. How about appreciate the fact that
anyone who uses the murray
becomes an immediate ally in the fight for its survival. Honestly,
there are bigger things to worry
about than boats... Weirs, cotton, wine, farmers.. but seriously..
dont have a go at the people who
use the river.. its the most beautiful place on earth!
_________________________________________________________________
Thank you Rob, for taking the time & effort to voice your concerns.
The web site attempts to cover all aspects of the Murray as you are
no doubt aware,
via the index. You say that the River is a beautiful place & this is
most heartening.
Without question the River should be available to all users &
sports, most of which I
have practiced or attempted.
The point is made that technology in many instances has out grown
the laws. eg a
4Kn area (introduced to minimize damage from wash) has little
relevance to wakeboard
craft that can create a 50cm wave at this speed.
Zoning regulations are being sought to enable all users to enjoy the
River without
annoyance to others, & to have river banks, where necessary,
protected to minimize
environmental damage. It is considered of major importance to
replace existing "4Kn" signs
with "No Wash" signs, as most major waterways in Aust. have done.
Keep up the good thoughts. Ed.
Correspondence to "viewpoint"
Letter to the Editor,
Murray Valley Standard,
03-02-07
In reply to "viewpoint" reference "wakeboarding".
Dear Sir,
We cannot agree with Russell that wakeboarding at times of low river
levels can cause less
damage to the riverbank.
The "new" bank that is now exposed is being seriously damaged,
particularly as wave action
is undercutting established reed and grass areas, also, as Russell
would have observed,
the river level is frequently at normal height at least once a week
due to the prevailing winds
blowing across the lakes.
Casting aspersions at Council for being "uninformed" is not exactly
helpful, as our representatives
grapple with many other complex river problems.
Our group seeks to inform the public, and we note the continued
riverbank degradation. The
fact is that the laws governing river use in our state have fallen
behind technology. A wakeboard
boat is purely desiged to produce a "wake". The resultant damage to
the riverbank is well
documented along with damage from PWCs and other types of craft.
We have submitted to the relevant authorities:
Zoning regulations should be introduced to separate "non
compatable" river users,
and to move some activities to areas more protected.
4Kn signs should be replaced with "No Wash" buoys, as is the
norm in many overseas
countries and major river complexes in Australia, like the
Hawksebury and Swan.
(To check the veracity of this statement go to Google and
search "no wash").
We argue that there is plenty of space on the Murray for all sports
and users, but not all areas
are suitable, and not every riverbank is protected.
Please visit clubmurray.com.au and view the damage caused at Sturt
Reserve, Further
information is is also being collated from Albury Eucha, Swan Hill,
Mildura and Renmark.
Editor
Club Murray
To
Karlene Maywald
We have been asked why all water users are not treated equally.
As
the editor of club murray we posed this question to various people
"in the know":
"………..why don't boat users, eg. speed boats, jet skis, pleasure
craft and house boats pay for water usage.
All powered boats on the Murray use water to cool their motors, and
flush bilges, with the resultant pollution returned to the river,
and house boats run their spas, showers etc.
Wouldn't a charge for this water usage be fair to everyone.
James
16th Dec 2007"
The dominating reply was:
David, The question you have raised regarding charges for usage
of water by boats on the river is a policitical one and would need
to be address by the local member. Perhaps the question could be
directed to Karlene Maywald. At this stage I don't know of any
proposal to charge water for boats. It is something that possibly
could be incorporated into a Licensing fee.
This question has been posted to clubmarray.com.au and we would
be most appreciative if you could reply.
Ed.
Clubmurray
WE
HAVE NOW ASKED THE MINISTER FOR INFORMATION THREE TIMES.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT HER OFFICE HAS RECEIVED OUR EMAIL WOULD BE
POLITE. ED
-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Bell [mailto:belly005@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 6 February 2007 12:20 PM
To: admin@clubmurray.com.au
Subject:
To whom it may concern.
I am a waterskier/wakeboarder from echuca on the murray river, and
have been there for about 15 years now. i was recently shown your
website by a fellow wakeboarder and the way you guys seem to
target wakeboarding as the main problem along the murray
honestly angered me. I feel the need now to point out a few facts
to you that you dont seem to know but is very important to the
whole issue.
Firstly you make reference to a study that was done a while ago now
on wakeboarding boats and the damage that the rollers to to the
river banks. You actually say that the results were never released
but im sorry to say my friend they were not to long ago and
they actually proved that a smaller wave that is going faster
will carry more energy into that bank and do more damage than a
larger one that is slower and has less energy. I believe the main
reason these results have not been so controversial is because they
don not help your cause on trying to ban us so the many people have
tried to keep them secret.
Now that has been pointed out I want to raise a question. Why
wakeboarding specifically? Sure us wakeboarders want to create the
biggest wake possible but what about a 4 year old kneeboarder behind
a big fishing boat loaded with people that want to see the
youngster kneeboard for the first time. I can honestly say i have
seen bigger rollers come from boats in this kind of
circumstance than any wakeboarding boat. Besides the amount of
people that actually wakeboard behind bigger boats is minimal. Most
of the people i know have smaller older boats that produce
much smaller wakes than most fishing boats. So when you finally
ban wakeboarding are you going to stop little kids
kneeboarding or skiing for the first time too or is it just us?
These are just two things that i would like you to answer, because
I, and most other waterskiiers/wakeboarders out there feel you have
no real case and just want to get rid of us because of some
unknown reason. We are doing no more damage than a bit of rain
does after the banks have been dried out from the drought. Please
think about what you are trying to do properly.
Thanks for your time,
Reply
To Aaron,
Many thanks for the time you took to correspond with us.We know that
if you explore the clubmurray site a little more you will realize
that our aim ,as stated, is not to ban wakeboarding or any other
activity, but to have exclusive zones introduced before bans are
bought in.
We do make reference to PWC’s and other large boats, as you point
out, that are also damaging.
We are actively seeking to change the buoys from “4Kn to “no Wash”
where applicable.
The study we refer to, and the info I’m now pointing out is found
under “let’s talk”.
In further sections under “problems” you will find other pages such
as “pollution” and river bank “degradation”, and along the header
page photos of wave action.
We hope that you will work with us to achieve a better
understanding, and we bear no malice to wakeboarding.
Ed
From: Aaron Bell [belly005@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 6 February 2007 3:36 PM
To: admin@clubmurray.com.au
Subject: RE:
Thank you very much for clearing that up. I do know understand much
better what
your aims are. the reason for my email was simply because of the
confusion on
what your aims are from me and many other people in the waterskiing
community.
We
all want to protect the murray so perhaps if we can all join forces
a better
solution may be found.
Perhaps it would be a good idea for someone to join the site i will
send the
link to and perhaps explain that as well. this is one of the biggest
wakeboarding sites in the world and i think you guys make your aims
clear to
everyone here it would be a good start. The link is:
http://www.wake.com.au/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=14500
Thankyou
Aaron. Any info, studies or related articles we will print for you
if appropriate. Ed
From: WAKEBOARDING!!!!!!!!! [WAKE@BOARDER.COM]
Sent: Tuesday, 6 February 2007 3:14 PM
To: barrangul@lm.net.au
Su
------------------------------------------------------------
Name of sender: WAKEBOARDING!!!!!!!!!
Email of sender: WAKE@BOARDER.COM
------------------------- COMMENTS -------------------------
U
ARE FUKING WANKERS GET A LIFE U FUCK THE MURRY UP WAY MORE THAN A
WAKE BOAT SO FUCK U!!!!!!
------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to wakeboarding
Thank you for your imput. It may be important.
Ed
From: Thane [melhuisht@bigpond.com]
Sent: Thursday, 8 February 2007 3:54 PM
To: admin@clubmurray.com.au
Subject: Lets Talk
Ed/Steve,
Your argument isn’t because the wakeboarding boats rock your
floating restaurant (The Barrangul) by any chance is it? Because
that would make a hell of a lot more sense.
You don’t seem to have too much proof if any at all. Any wake
causes erosion, houseboat, floating restaurant, Dingy, Fat kid doing
a seuy off a jetty… It is all relevant. If you really want to save
the Murray move your restaurant off the river, do your bit!
Mate, Stop being so selfish. The river is for everyone so its best
you learn to share it. The amount of money that is pumped into small
Riverland towns by wakeboarders is what helps the towns survive.
If your dinner boat rocks from big wake, then buy one that doesn’t.
The Barrangul is definitely due for an upgrade.. Stopping such
recreational activity on the Murray will never happen because of the
economic gain from the tourism which includes wakeboarding, and your
making yourself look like a right wanker in the process.
WAKE up dude!!!!
Thane
Reply
to Thane.
Please note that we are not just one person, but we represent
many others including wakeboarders, pwc operators, anglers,skiers
and ordinary citizens.(for myself its pwcs).
That the river is in strife is obvious. Under "degradation
you would have noted us planting reeds to protect the bank.
Under "pollution" you would also have seen the effort taken to
collect information. Photographic and video evidence of damaging
wave action heads our pages.
News to hand has placed blue green alga bloom in the
mainstream of the Murray, in the lower reaches of SA, and there will
be more on this subject posted soon, but you would understand (cut
taken from a recent edition of the Advertiser & reproduced below),
that potentially all activity on the river may have to be
halted soon. Now is the time to take responsibility and work with
everybody else, so that we can continue to wakeboard,float in a
restaurant or whatever
If you take the time to read our answer to Aaron, you will
have a better understanding of our position in that we wish to work
with all river users.
Regards
Ed
08-02-07
Adrian Pederick,
The Member for Hammond.
Dear Adrian,
We
have endeavored to obtain information from Karlene Maywald
concerning aspects of water usage and pricing. Pricing is
particularly important at this time it is under review at the
moment.
The particular question was asked, "…….why don't boat user, eg speed
boats, jet skis, pleasure craft and house boats pay for water usage.
All boats on the Murray use water to cool their motors and flush
bilges etc with the resultant pollution returned to the river, and
houseboats run spas showers etc.
Wouldn't a charge for this water us be fair to everyone.".
This question is posed in clubmurray.com.au under "pollution'
sub heading "lets talk".
We
draw your attention to another article, in that section, concerning
the effect of "wakeboarding" taken from the Riverina Herald, where
past member for "Rodney", Noel Maughan is quoted. I spoke to Noel
just prior to Vic's last election,
And I believe that he conveyed to me that he considered the NSW
Gov. may have shelved this report for political reasons.
We hope that you may be able to elicit information on these
subjects.
Kind Regards
David Bean
Editor
clubmurray.com.au
Ph 0407395385
PO Box 2185
Murray Bridge 5253
Dear Editor
Last saturday we moored on Sturt Reserve near the Bunyip.
The filth that was pumped from across the river was frightening. How
can this be condoned.
The muck settled all around the 5 moored boats was putrid in the
extreme, and the odour was foul.
To
shower and wash our dishes in this must be a health hazard. The
Dept. of health did not wish to
comment nor did any other of the "powers in charge".
How can public servants ignore this atrocity. Is any one responsible
any more.
Garry 16/14/07
Subject: comment on pollution
We
like to comment on Garry`s article on the 16.4.07
my
husband and I where in one of the Boats moored on that day at Sturt
Reserve and woke up to this foul odor, it was a sad picture to look
at & it was very obvious where it came from, we never ever shower
near the Sturt Reserve out of that reason!
I
wonder how all the Water living Creatures cope with this ongoing
pollution
Connie & Mark
We
have directed these questions to another Parliamentarian,
Adrian Pederick
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