Anglers Gear Up For Police Fight
Illawarra Mercury
Friday November 3, 2000
Recreational fishermen have vowed to fiercely fight any move to shut down the Port Kembla Water Police.
Fishing clubs from the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and western Sydney have united to persuade the State Government that closing the base would be dangerous and irresponsible.
The Port Kembla service is in limbo since two of its full-time officers were ``temporarily" transferred to Sydney for Olympic duties.
A lone officer on restricted duties now works at the base, answering phones.
But he is not permitted to respond to emergencies and must call a crew from Port Botany when there is trouble in South Coast waters.
Police Minister Paul Whelan said staffing levels at Port Kembla would be ``maintained at pre-Olympic levels" after the conclusion of the Paralympics.
But just this week, a crew from Sydney travelled by car to Port Kembla to deal with a tug boat which ran aground at Bass Point.
A spokesman for the recreational anglers, Bob Edwards, said his group was ready to fight.
Representatives have sent a letter expressing their concerns to Mr Whelan and are meeting with Wollongong MP Col Markham and Keira MP David Campbell next week.
``We will be organising an ongoing public protest should they decide to close the base and move operations to Eden," Mr Edwards said yesterday.
The group is concerned about the ``obvious negative impact" the closure would have on policing illegal activities such as drug and people trafficking and smuggling.
``Ignoring the obvious ... the Port Kembla water police is the only reliable, fully accredited, 24-hour sea rescue service in the Illawarra region and its closure would inevitably place the lives of recreational boat and rock fisherman at serious risk," Mr Edwards said.
``The proposal that sea rescues in the Illawarra and South Coast region could be handled effectively by craft from Botany Bay is totally unrealistic and unacceptable to all - commercial fisherman included."
Mr Edwards said travel time from Port Botany to Port Kembla was at least an hour by boat and ``considerably longer in a southerly blow".
Mr Whelan said this week that no decision had been made about the future of the Port Kembla service.
Marine commander Graeme O'Neill said any changes at Port Kembla ``would be the subject of a full review and workload analysis, and at this stage no such review has been carried out".
© 2000 Illawarra Mercury
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