Divers licence

[INDULGENCE]

The NSW Govt yesterday were discussing charging divers an annual licence fee to use the water,similar to the fishing licence.
Whilst I believe in user pays and some of the guys who took away our fishing sites as so called grey nurse habitats should pay.I cant support it.
With the crap associated with the fishing licence fees and what they spend the revenue on.
Surely we dont need another TAX.
I stick my head under the water about 5-10 times per year and would probably wait until I holidayed in QLD if NSW implement this.
Just maybe we all should move north and leave the NSW Govt without any income,its what they deserve.
Wally

[bugman]

GDay Wally,

This has been discussed a bit before here but would probably be a bit far back now. From memory the charge they were initially talking about would only apply for diving in the habit protection zones like Julian Rocks etc. Maybe they've gone one step further now.

I agree though - just more money grabbing without a real reason.

If you want more info go to the Dive Oz website - they've been discussing it at length.

Bugman

[INDULGENCE]

Thanks
However our pollies have thought it more lucrative to charge all divers to dive anywhere.
There is an article in todays newspapers talking about trying to manage such a requirement.
Probably an annual fee on your registration
Another 20 jobs for enforcement officers and general office staff in fee management , sorry to bable on,I am really annoyed.

Wally

[gunna]

Hot off the press
"THE NSW government is considering establishing an annual licence for scuba divers similar to that required by recreational fishers.

Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald today said the scheme would involve the creation of an independent scuba diving trust, made up of industry members, who would allocate licence costs to programs to improve amenities for divers.

Mr Macdonald said the trust also could invest funds towards programs to protect the habitat areas of the critically endangered grey nurse shark.

"The state government was previously considering introducing a fee to dive in these areas but the licence system will be simpler and fairer – instead of paying a fee for each dive in the habitat sites, divers will now have an annual fee," Mr Macdonald said.

He said he had recently met senior diving industry representatives, who expressed support for the proposal. "

As far as NSW fishos are concerned State MP Ian Macdonald is public enemy No 1. Good to see him get the divers off side as well.

[Stumpthumpa]

Looks like we will need a licence for everything in NSW soon! I hope they introduce a tree huggers licence.

[theoldlegend]

I'd like to add my twenty cents worth to this subject. While I don't live in NSW, I pay a licence fee to fish in NSW. I don't have a problem with this, as I understand that part of my licence fees go towards buying out commercial licences from time to time and upgrading certain things throughout the State of NSW.

After reading Annual Reports from the NSW Fisheries mob for the past two years, I now find that about 10% of my fee goes towards paying back a $20million loan as well as about another 11% in administration costs, which in my mind is dead money. Instead of the NSW Government actually granting the $20 million funds towards buying out licences, it now transpires that it was only a loan.

Having read a previous post above about divers paying a fee, part of which might go towards maintaining the critically endangered Grey Nurse shark habitats, I get pretty cranky.

This is identical to the blurb put out about my fishing licence fees and where they go, way back when they first mooted the idea of licence fees, some of which were to be applied to maintaining the, you guessed it, the critically endangered Grey Nurse shark habitats.

Do they think we're stupid, uneducated, roughneck fishing people who have short memories? Resurrect the old stickers: "I Fish and I Vote" the sooner the better.

John Miller
TOL