Are Our Swing Moorings Under Threat?

By tonyh, 2 January, 2025
Information
Mooring

The letter from Transport NSW below was sent to me before Christmas. I think it likely that every non-commercial swing mooring owner in Port Stephens, and possibly all of NSW, has received it. 

There has been speculation for some time that there is a concerted effort on behalf of Marine Parks to get rid of swing moorings where they present any kind of threat to the environment. What that environmental threat may be, how serious it really is and who is affected remains a mystery because no-one in authority has bothered to inform us as to what Marine Parks' intentions are. All we know is that it is very difficult for boat owners to get new moorings approved, that the wait list for existing moorings is very long, and that existing owners have now onerous restrictions on what they can do with the moorings they have paid for, are charged license fees for and pay maintenance for. 

This letter is from NSW Maritime, not Marine Parks. But when I requested  Maritime for my mooring to be moved into deeper water some time back, the request was denied by Maritime. I was told that the refusal actually came from Marine Parks. No reason was given other than a verbal one of environmental sensitivity. The implication is that Marine Parks are pursuing their strategy and that Maritime are no longer part of the equation, i.e. they have relinquished their decision making authority regarding the boating community interests to Marine Parks.

I have made an angry response to this letter which I posted today. If any readers would like a copy, or wish to discuss the issue further, please email me on tonyhann7@bigpond.com

Tony Hann

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NSW dept passing the buck exercise continues and the Port Stephens mooring situation at all mooring sites in the Port continues to deteriorate with no real plan visible and definitely not one backed by any credible environmental science that I have seen. I have been on wait list for more than 15 months which is really complete joke as a local resident.  Frustrated would be an understatement. 

Shaun