Maritime NZ announces safer boating funding for 2023
Maritime NZ has announced recipients of its annual Community Grant funding for safety programmes to help reduce fatalities and injuries to people out on the water in recreational craft.
In total, 21 projects and initiatives around the country will share $876,680 worth of funding. In 2022, 24 projects shared $853,000.
In 2022 there were 17 deaths (spread across 16 incidents) related to recreational craft. The number of fatalities has remained relatively consistent over the last decade, despite significant efforts from recreational craft safety-focussed organisations.
For Maritime NZ Director, Kirstie Hewlett, these fatalities and the substantial number of preventable harm incidents are of significant concern for her and the rest of Maritime NZ.
“With nearly two million people in New Zealand undertaking activities on the water, we know it is very important to get the right safety messages out to a wide range of people, from different backgrounds, all over Aotearoa.
“At Maritime NZ, we will be looking for opportunities to promote the work of other organisations to reduce harm, and are keen to see collaborative approaches to safety across the sector.
“No one organisation has the answer or the ability to reach everyone. This is why it is important to work together to increase water users' knowledge on how to be safe on the water, and ultimately bring down instances of harm.
A key part of the funding allocation decision was looking at how to reach at-risk groups.
“There are several initiatives that are targeted to supporting different ethnic groups, including Pasifika, Asian and Māori communities.
“Across New Zealand, we know there are differing levels of safety knowledge, safety equipment owned by water users and language barriers for some communities. It is hugely important we keep up our previous momentum with supporting these communities and have them prioritising safety.
“Everyone should go home safely from a day out on the water.
“It is vital water users understand the rules and know how to keep themselves safe,” Ms Hewlett says.
The funding is split across local and national initiatives, with recipients located all around New Zealand.
Among the initiatives that have secured funding are Coastguard’s Old4New lifejacket upgrade programme, which includes Second Life Lifejackets and received $100,000; Northland Regional Council’s Nobody’s Stronger Than Tangaroa campaign, which received $85,000; and $70,000 for Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Kia marutau ki te wai and Safety is Our Wai scheme.
Beneficiary organisations include the Kayak Association of Sea Kayakers, Watersafe Auckland (Drowning Prevention Auckland), New Zealand Stand Up Paddling, Jet Boating NZ, and several regional councils.
A key purpose of the fund is to support campaigns and collaboration led by the members of New Zealand’s Safer Boating Forum, a coalition of organisations dedicated to improving safety in the recreational boating sector.
Successful recipients
|
Council / Organisation |
Programme |
Funding Approved |
|
Bay of Plenty Regional Council |
Safety is our Wai & Kia marutau ki te wai |
$70,000 |
|
Coastguard New Zealand Tautiaki Moana Aotearoa Daisy Docherty Daisy.docherty@coastguard.nz |
Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade Programme including Second Life Lifejackets and Ngā Hue ō Hinemoa Continuation of the Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade campaign offering heavily discounted lifejackets and PFD’s to those who upgrade their old or damaged lifejackets across NZ and providing new life jackets for at-risk communities Continuation of an existing programme to educate Pasifika boaties to be more knowledgeable and safer skippers. |
$100,000 |
|
Environment Canterbury Gordon McKay |
Canterbury Safe Boating Programme Continuation of programme to educate safer boating and providing an Enforcement Officer to specialise in educating the jet boat sector. |
$55,000 |
|
Environment Southland zak.smith@es.govt.nz |
Environment Southland Boating Safety Program |
$20,000 |
|
Gisborne District Council |
Tairāwhiti Haumaru Moana |
$48,000 |
|
Greater Wellington Regional Council |
Do you know what you need to? |
$58,410 |
|
Hawke's Bay Regional Council Adrian.wright@hbrc.govt.nz |
Tamariki and Pakeke Boating Safety Programme |
$18,000 |
|
Jet Boating New Zealand Inc. Stephen Woodside |
Jet Smart – Safer Jet Boating |
$36,650 |
|
Kayak Association of Sea Kayakers (KASK) steve@kask.co.nz |
KayakSafe NZ |
$7,000 |
|
Marlborough District Council Brittany Hamilton Brittany.Hamilton@marlborough.govt.nz |
Safer Boating Roadshow Marlborough – bringing boating safety to you! |
$20,000 |
|
Nelson City Council |
Maritime Safety Internship |
$27,000 |
|
Nelson City Council |
Sup on water educational programme |
$4,800 |
|
New Zealand Stand Up Paddling Inc. (NZSUP) |
SUP SAFE |
$24,000 |
|
Northland Regional Council |
Nobody’s stronger then Tangaroa |
$85,000 |
|
Queenstown Lakes District Council |
QLDC Waterways Skipper Responsibility Campaign |
$12,000 |
|
Royal New Zealand Coastguard Marilyn Brady marilyn.brady@boatingeducation.org.nz |
Ko Tangata Moana To deliver safer boating courses to Maori, Pasifika and Asian communities |
$100,000 |
|
Waikato Regional Council |
Operation Neptune |
$45,000 |
|
Waka Ama NZ |
Waka Ama Water Safety |
$46,000 |
|
Watersafe Auckland Inc.(Drowning Prevention Auckland) |
WaiWise for the Pacific, Asian and Indian communities |
$50,000 |
|
Watersafe Auckland Inc.(Drowning Prevention Auckland) |
Supporting growth in use of Lifejacket Hubs for drowning prevention education |
$25,000 |
|
Yachting New Zealand |
Yachting New Zealand’s sailing experience RŪNĀ Continuation of the RŪNĀ framework to encourage a wider and more diverse range of students to connect with sailing both inside and outside the classroom |
$25,000 |
|
|
|
$876,680 |
Note to editors
- All of Maritime New Zealand’s recreational boating work is funded through fuel excise duty on petrol (about $5.4 million). This is from contributions to the tax boaties make when refuelling their boats. A portion of this funding is used to support the Community Grants programme
- Maritime NZ also provides funding to a range of Councils around the country to support on-water compliance. Funding for ‘No Excuses’ and on-water compliance initiatives will not come out of community grants funding. Instead they will be supported from the on-water compliance funding budget.