8 Oct 2014

Council to step up Waiheke boat checks

7:43 pm on 8 October 2014

The Auckland Council says it will undertake a regular programme to move boaties squatting on public land on Waiheke Island.

Waiheke Island man David Hargreaves Brady, aged 67, died and another man suffered serious injuries in a boat fire in Ostend on Monday night.

Members of the adjoining boating club said they have been trying to have rundown boats removed for many years.

The council's team leader of coastal consents and compliance, Alan Moore, said illegally moored vessels are given 28 days to move on, but new boats have arrived since the council's last check in January.

"We've tried to work with boat owners to find them locations, and a number of vessels weren't sea worthy - they had holes in them and the like.

"What we've tried to do is give people some time to fix those vessels up and then move them on, and we're still going through some of that process."

Mr Moore said the council intended to check out the situation more regularly and would review its approach.

"What we're hoping to do now is we'll go away and we'll review the approach that we have taken and have a think about how we may be able to address this matter in a better way."

Detective Inspector Scott Beard said the police would not be able to determine the cause of the fire until all forensic testing was finished.

The man who was injured in the fire was still in Middlemore Hospital, and had been able to speak with police, he said.

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