A key opponent of proposed restrictions on some Murray River wake boat activities is yet to contribute to a consultation process it calls “a waste of people’s time”.
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Boating Industry Association of Victoria has not formally submitted its opinion of the draft management erosion plan (Corowa to Ovens junction), with the feedback closing on February 28.
“We’re still weighing up whether the process is non-transparent enough to warrant even putting in a submission,” association advocacy manager Ben Scullin said over the weekend.
But Roads and Maritime Services executive director Angus Mitchell said yesterday all submissions and community feedback would be responded to and considered in drafting the final plan.
“This is a rigorous and genuine process with more than 200 submissions received to date,” Mr Mitchell said.
Mr Scullin said a November 2016 Department of Primary Industries advisory, which he obtained through a Freedom of Information request, showed wave-induced erosion between 2014-2016 was less than that caused by slaking/dispersion, which was increasing.
He felt this contradicted statements by RMS and Murray Darling Basin Authority about the draft plan.
“What they are saying is that boating is causing the accelerated erosion, but when you look at that graph of their own monitoring, their own analysis presented to them by their scientist, it’s clear that is not true,” Mr Scullin said.
The 2016 advisory, seen by The Border Mail, is one of about 17 documents received under the FOI request.
Mr Mitchell said RMS, MDBA and the erosion management committee were focused on safety, community and environmental outcomes for the Murray River.
MDBA executive director, river management, Andrew Reynolds told Thursday’s community information session in Corowa the last seven years had seen “nearly a fourfold increase” in areas of active erosion.
“Erosion in this part of the river is increasing substantially and it corresponds very much with the increase of boating traffic that we’ve seen here and the greater prevalence of boats that produce high wakes,” he said.
Mr Reynolds said the boat wash came in perpendicular to the river bank, rather than parallel like a natural flow.
“There’s a lot of energy in that wake and as it hits the bank it starts to disrupt the underlying soil, damage the vegetation,” he said.
“We’re not about getting wake boats off the river all together, we’re about making sure that that activity happens in locations on the river where the river banks are more robust.”
Mr Scullin said the consultation had been farcical.
“Ultimately this waste of people’s time when the evidence is that they’re wrong and they know they’re wrong, yet they’re still continuing with this snake oil sales process,” he said.