Nong River Warning !!!

matthew2 · #1 06-06-2009, 05:49 AM

HI All

Went down to the river on Saturday arvo with my boat . As soon as I launched of the bank near the bridge near the race course a Parks and wildlife officer pulled me over , he was in his boat waiting for me in mine . He took my rego down and said next time he will give me a large fine . The officer said they are cracking down on people who launch there boats from the edge of the river like a bush ramp . The council are going to put up concrete pyllons all along the bank so it will be impossible to launch a boat

.So we will be forst to use the Warmies boat ramp and get ripped of and pay launching fees ! WHY ARE WE PAYING FOR THE RAMP ,WE PAY FOR FISHING LICENCE IT SHOULD BE FOR FREE !
Scabby council .

peterb59 · #2 06-06-2009, 06:00 AM

Sounds like another revenue raiser. We need a boat ramp closer to the upper reaches of the Nong.

#3 06-06-2009, 06:11 AM

my guess the ranger that pulled you over would of been a fat bloke with glasses and bald hair..............if that fits the description of the ranger they all call him captian pugwash

matthew2 · #4 06-06-2009, 06:14 AM

We shore do need another boat ramp theres one just a little further up the river Why cant we use it ? I would pay a small fee to use it The ramp is just sitting there doing nothing collecting garabage .

matthew2 · #5 06-06-2009, 06:23 AM

That the one

Emo · #6 06-06-2009, 06:45 AM

Lucky my mrs decided I wasn't fishing today

Emo · #7 06-06-2009, 07:08 AM

BTW, I have just shot Parks Vic an email asking if there is a law against it and if so could they point me to where it is published

I'll wait for the reply...........................

DrPopper · #8 06-06-2009, 08:22 AM

If you can launch the boat physically .... you can launch the boat. Parks Victoria cannot fine you. Its a local laws issue not a Parks Victoria issue. Old Bruce is due for retirement soon ...everyone (including the Parks people) hate him.

matthew2 · #9 06-06-2009, 06:28 PM

The ramp up the river which is not used the one infront of the race track who owns it council or flemington race course ? Thats a perfict ramp wasted !

IceManDude · #10 06-06-2009, 07:17 PM

Don't know who owns it but flemington racecourse peoples control the access to it.

Boat ramp or not is it illegal to launch off the banks of a river? whether it be the yarra, nong, bee, barwon it shouldn't matter

crabcrusher · #11 06-06-2009, 07:20 PM

I believe that Racecourse Victoria owns the ramp. It is/was mainly used for training of the horses, but the good old days have gone. If i had a $1.2million plus racehorse, the last place id be letting it swim would be the Maribynong

The ramp would be ideal, but then someone would have to fit the public liability bill, and bring it up to meet the safety criteria of those who take on the insurance .There is parking, permanent lighting,signage,a landing, ticket machine, and security guards to show that "duty of care" by the operator has been adhered to. In setting up the infrastructure i would estimate $2million bucks would be spend with an annual maintenance of $300K or so.

Once this was paid by the owner, the cost would have to be offset somehow, so the launching fees would probably be more than the Warmies anyway, as there are way less people who would use a Nong ramp.

Racecourse Victoria also use that track for horse training, by means of walking there horses along for legwork. The horse are scared sh....tless of boats and motor vehicles, so im sure the owners of these golden ponies would not be to happy to see there training grounds overun.

Id love to have a ramp on the Nong, but for now it looks like the Warmies is the only option

Emo · #12 06-06-2009, 09:29 PM

What Nick said is right, they don't want boats launching around there due to the racing industry, they pay big dollars at the racecourse and the amount of horses that get walked along the river there means there is no way they'll give access to that old ramp. (I used to know people who knew other people who would turn a blind eye to me using that ramp but those days are long gone)

My suggestion is to keep that place quiet in order to prevent others who dont know about it from finding out. It seems to be becoming common knowledge and the more people who launch there the more likely it is someone will put a stop to it

.

Hopefully over winter it doesn't get used much and the authorities might forget about the issue

.

Mums the word

DrPopper · #13 07-06-2009, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceManDude

Don't know who owns it but flemington racecourse peoples control the access to it.

Boat ramp or not is it illegal to launch off the banks of a river? whether it be the yarra, nong, bee, barwon it shouldn't matter

I searched the law database and could find no reference to launching a boat being illegal from a river bank that is a public easement like nearly all rivers in Victoria. Of course there are many local bylaws and various regulations governing public reserves but per se ..boat launching is legal.

matthew2 · #14 07-06-2009, 04:46 AM

The piece of legislation you have read put it up on this thread so we can all print it out and keep a copy in our pocket for a safe gaurd .

DrPopper · #15 07-06-2009, 06:26 AM

As I said I can find NO REFERENCE in any legislation to boat launching being illegal from a river easement. It doesn't exist ...