NT boaties drive right past tougher booze restrictions

The territory last week introduced a new liquor bill that adopts about 70 recommendations from a wide-sweeping 2017 review of alcohol use in the region, one of which called for a blood alcohol content cap for boat operators.

"In our view there is no good reason why the operation of vessels by people who have been consuming alcohol should not be regulated in much the same way as vehicles under the [NT] Traffic Act," the report said.

However, it said there was no data to support its call for drink-driving limits on the water.

While the boaties’ alcohol cap was not part of the territory’s new liquor bill despite the strong suggestion it should – and chief minister Michael Gunner late last year guaranteeing it would – its absence has sparked questions over why it wasn’t included in the legislative overhaul.

It’s a bit of a grey area for the government – under Territorian law a vessel is not classed as a vehicle, meaning drink-driving laws designed for the road don’t apply on the water.

It’s also not the first time that the NT has had to consider cracking down on irresponsible boaties; in 2017 it moved to slam the door shut on a legal loophole that allowed boat operators who had seriously injured or killed people while driving dangerously to escape jail.

Country Liberals opposition leader Gary Higgins last week called for tougher restrictions on NT boaties, who at the moment don’t need to hold a licence to operate a boat, don’t have to register their craft, and more importantly, are allowed to drink as much alcohol as they want out on the water.

"The issue around licensing or registration – or identification – are issues that should be considered," Higgins said at a press conference in the wake of the release of the Labor government-led liquor reforms.

"I'm also a supporter of having a certification of someone in charge of a boat, where you would do a course, like a first aid course, which could be done by the fishing club and could be a source of revenue for them, opposed to a source of revenue for government.

"But it's an education aspect … someone in control of a boat of a certain size should be certified to be capable or competent in maintaining that boat at a certain speed."

The onus on NT boat operators is to know and follow the rules spelled out in the territory’s safety guide for recreational boating, and to ensure they carry the correct safety gear while on the water.

The NT government has been considering introducing boat registrations to the territory as a means of tracking boat use, but the argument has always fallen flat.

Groups representing recreational fishers cautiously backed calls to give NT police the power to breath-test boat operators on the water, but warned it should only happen if the boat was involved in an on-water incident.

Other states and territories in Australia enforce a strict 0.05 alcohol limit for recreational boaters out on the water. If you are caught drink-driving on a boat, some states also will apply the penalty to a driver’s licence.