News
22.07.11
Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol return to Maritime
The Minister for the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol
Main Roads, Fisheries and Marine Infrastructure, Craig Wallace,
announced yesterday that the Queensland Boating and Fisheries
Patrol agency is to be transferred from the control of the
Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation
(DEEDI) to Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) within Transport and
Main Roads (TMR).
This is essentially a case of back to the future as the two
agencies had been one Agency many years ago, as the Queensland
Harbours and Marine Department.
The Harbours and Marine Department was formed on the
1st January 1929 when the QLD Marine Department and the
QLD Harbours and Rivers Department were amalgamated.
On 7 December 1989, the Department of Harbours and Marine was
amalgamated with the Department of Main Roads and the Department of
Transport to form the new Department of Transport. The Boating and
Fisheries Patrol section of the Department of Harbours and Marine
was amalgamated with the Department of Primary Industries later
becoming the Department of Employment, Economic Development and
Innovation (DEEDI).
The AMOU has long represented members in Harbours and Marine,
Queensland Transport and Maritime Safety Queensland and has long
predicted that the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol would
return to MSQ for all of the reasons outlined by the Minister in
the following Media Release
The AMOU will continue to represent members in the
Boating and Fisheries Patrol and will be active in the transition
process into Maritime Safety Queensland
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
MSQ nets Queensland Boating and Fisheries
Patrol
Queensland boaties and fishers will see further enforcement and
resourcing benefits of a single marine services agency when
Maritime Safety Queensland teams up with its long-time partner,
Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol in September.
Fisheries and Marine Infrastructure Minister Craig Wallace said
Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol would be transferred from
their present home within the Department of Employment, Economic
Development and Innovation (DEEDI) to Maritime Safety Queensland
(MSQ) within Transport and Main Roads (TMR).
"The move is really a matter of common sense and reflects the many
common areas of their existing program objectives and operations,"
Mr Wallace said.
"I've been up and down the coast talking to the boating community,
and these changes are what they have been asking for - more patrols
and more time on the water."
Mr Wallace said the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol already
worked closely with MSQ in both education and enforcement roles
under a memorandum of understanding in place for several
years.
"Boating and Fisheries officers share office space and facilities
at half of all Maritime Safety Queensland's operational bases," he
said.
"By bringing them within Maritime Safety Queensland's organisation
they can better combine their assets in delivering services such as
marine education and safety awareness programs, which is good news
for all boaties.
"There's a raft of other efficiencies to be gained from
incorporating the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol into MSQ,
including better coordination and targeted delivery of core
compliance for the State's recreational and commercial fleet.
"We'll have greater leverage from TMR's existing marine
infrastructure planning initiatives.
"The shift will also enable better coordination of marine assets
and personnel to respond to maritime emergencies such as oil spills
and severe weather events."
Mr Wallace said there was great potential for cross-decking and
joint patrols especially in areas such as the Gold Coast and the
Whitsundays, which would enable better monitoring and enforcement
of a broader range of on-water marine activities.