Wearing a lifejacket would become compulsory on small boats under changes Auckland Council has proposed to its Navigation Bylaw.
“We know the vast majority of boating fatalities in New Zealand happen on small boats, where the victim is not wearing a lifejacket,” said Councillor Alf Filipaina, a member of the bylaw review panel.
“Even though they might have had one on board, accidents can happen very suddenly.”
At present, everyone on a vessel six metres or under must wear a lifejacket, unless the person in charge gives permission not to.
The proposal would remove that discretion and require lifejackets to be worn whenever a small vessel is underway.
Submitters largely backed the change, most saying lifejackets were a simple, proven measure that prevents drowning and improves the chances of surviving an accident.
Much of that support came through a postcard campaign run by Coastguard, Water Safety New Zealand, Drowning Prevention Auckland and Police, which produced hundreds of submissions, almost all in favour.
“Lifejackets save lives,” Coastguard says.
“Drownings aren’t statistics, they’re people.”
Water Safety New Zealand figures show that since 2000, 87 per cent of Auckland watercraft fatalities involved no lifejacket being worn, rising to every fatality between 2021 and 2025.
Coastguard says a person is three times more likely to survive if wearing one, and that leaving the decision to the skipper is not working.
Filipaina said some boaties would resist the rule at first.
“Some people might find this rule inconvenient at first, as people did when mandatory seatbelts or bike helmets were introduced, but we have heard from many water safety organisations that this simple change will save lives,” he said.
Not every proposal was welcomed.
A plan to cut the maximum time a vessel can stay at anchor from 14 days to seven drew majority opposition, with boaties calling it an unnecessary restriction that lacked evidence, warning it could force boats to move in bad weather, and saying it was impractical for holidaymakers.
The proposal would also set up a new restricted zone on the Tamaki River, one of five it wants to add across the region.
The Tamaki estuary, which runs south to Bucklands Beach, is one of Auckland’s main rowing courses, used by clubs and school crews from across the city.
The zone would manage where other vessels can go on the stretch of water the rowers use, and most submitters who commented on it were in favour.
The consultation drew 1,323 submissions, 77 of them from the Howick Local Board area, and the Governing Body is due to make a final decision late this year.
