TROY BELL MP
Member for Mount Gambier
Your Independent voice
in State Parliament
MP seeking compensation for marine rescuers
Friday August 19, 2022Published by: The Border Watch
By: Aiden Curtis
FISHING boats taking part in marine rescues near Port MacDonnell could potentially see compensation for their efforts if a local MP is successful in creating a temporary new fund.
Independent Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell said he has been trying to get a Port MacDonnell marine rescue service on the water for some time.
While he said such a service is vital for the community, Mr Bell has also put forward a motion in Parliament to create a marine rescue compensation fund for the volunteers who put their boats on the line in the meantime.
The motion, which has been scheduled to come before Parliament in November, would help crews pay for the costs of fuel and any damages to their vessels as a result of rescues.
"There's been calls for a dedicated marine rescue service here for a number of years and it has always fallen on deaf ears because, quite frankly, volunteers pick up the slack," he said.
"At the moment, there's no compensation for the fuel they use, any damage to their equipment, tow ropes.
"There's a grey area around the insurance of those things." Port MacDonnell fisherman Tyson Kain said calls for help come in more often than people think and even the minor ones can be costly.
"There haven't been lots of major incidents, but it's more boats breaking down that need to be towed in that, depending on weather, can depend on how things can go," he said.
"You get the odd occasion where somebody runs out of fuel and they just need to be towed in.
"It's not as urgent, but it still comes down to our time and money we have to spend as professional fishermen to go and rescue these people." Mr Kain said he would welcome some form of compensation for taking part in rescues, but he had some concerns about how the proposed fund would work.
"I guess it comes down to, if something did go wrong and we happen to lose our vessel, then would it be covered our insurance or would it be covered under the fund?" he said.
"How much is the fund going to be and will it be fully covered for all our expenses?
"It's hard to judge on what the fund will actually entitle, but that's something for now." He said, even if there was no compensation fund forthcoming, he and other volunteers would still help vessels in need as it was "the law of the ocean".
Mr Bell also had concerns surrounding the liability risks of marine rescues and said how the fund would work in tandem with insurance still needed to be explored.
"If a fisher is conducting rescue operations outside their normal duties and something unforeseen happens, will fishing boats still be covered by insurance or will it be null and void?" he said.
"These are the questions that need answering."