From the Sydney Morning Herald, (hope this is the right place to post this........)
Boaties furious about tinny tax cash grab
HEATH ASTON
May 16, 2010 EXCLUSIVE
Wake up... tinny owner George hopkins, on Lake Macquarie yesterday, is sick of the "money grubbing". Photo: Brock Perks
The NSW Government has been accused of a cash grab over a new tax on all boat users to fund marine rescue services that don't cover large areas of the state.
Boat owners are furious that all 450,000 NSW licence holders will be hit with the levy regardless of whether they use coastal waterways covered by the newly formed Marine Rescue NSW or inland waterways such as the Murray and Nepean rivers and Snowy Mountains dams that have no volunteer rescue services.
Boat licences will rise from $43 to $50.50 a year as a result of the levy and registering ''tinnies'' - boats shorter than six metres, which make up 92 per cent of all water craft in NSW - will rise from $92 to $99.50 if the plan by Ports Minister Paul McLeay is adopted.
The new charges will raise more than $6 million a year in extra revenue for NSW Treasury. The Boat Owners' Association of NSW (BOA) is concerned that not all of the money will fund rescue operations.
Marine Rescue and its 2500 members currently survive on $1.4 million in funding from the state government.
BOA president Michael Chapman said boat owners should not be forced to pay extra until Marine Rescue NSW has had its membership and operating model brought up to the standard of successful organisations such as the Surf Lifesaving Service or the Rural Fire Service.
Marine Rescue, which is the amalgamation of three volunteer rescue services, has an ageing membership and few plans to transform itself.
''The model [for the levy] is based on false premises, it hasn't been well thought out. It's like the state government taking over NRMA but only serving vehicles in coastal areas,'' Mr Chapman said. ''It's too early, there's no transparency and no accountability. There's only one reason it's being pushed through so early: money.''
Cardiff resident George Hopkins, who fishes from his 3.6-metre tinny on Lake Macquarie every weekend, said the new levy was more ''money grubbing'' by the state government.
''In my experience, if there's any trouble the MSB will give you a tow. This is just another tax right when electricity and everything else is going up,'' he said.
Nationals Leader Andrew Stoner said boaties should make their voices heard.
''Whether it's the monstrous tax on car registrations, the sneaky new tax on home buyers or the skyrocketing power prices, people are sick of having to foot the bill for state Labor's failures,'' Mr Stoner said.