SAKSA RESPONSE
The committee would firstly like to thank all those who have posted on the recent threads concerning SAKSA. Debate and criticism is essential for the effective and transparent operation of any association and this has given the committee a lot to consider.
There are two important issues raised in these threads, firstly beach/water access and secondly conduct.
Firstly in terms of access:
SAKSA was formed to represent the interests of this state’s kite surfing community and offering Public Liability Insurance. It has a key focus to advocate safe kiting and protect beach access for our community, but beach access for us is a privilege, not a right. For many reasons over the years, restrictions have been enforced by authorities on our sport, and SAKSA is regularly challenged with justifying why further restrictions should not be in place. The sheer fact that we have access to our metro beaches is a testament to our success of meeting those challenges.
Earlier this year, we were painfully close to losing all beach access at Henley Beach South. This year, especially over summer, the scrutiny will be even greater; if kiters act irresponsibly, unintentionally or otherwise, we will lose further privileges of beach access.
As kiters, it’s our responsibility to each other and the public to act lawfully and appropriately in accordance with the permitted areas or otherwise. It’s SAKSA’s position to keep you informed as to what areas have restrictions in place.
To date, from our consultations with relevant authorities, these are as follows:
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority: Under the Civil Aviation Regulation 260 (2):
A person must not fly a fixed balloon or kite within 4000 metres of an aerodrome or at a height of more than 300 feet if the following requirements are not satisfied:
(a) the person has CASA’s permission to fly the balloon or kite at that height;
(b) the flight is in accordance with the terms of that permission.
The Regulation is under the Commonwealth’s Civil Aviation Act. CASA has confirmed that due to the use of kites, we are required to have permission whether the kite is used on land or on the water. In March 2008, SAKSA was able to obtain a permit for our members to utilize an area (Torrens Mouth area) within 4000m of Adelaide Airport, but it can be revoked at any time.
Those who do not comply risk prosecution under Commonwealth law, PLUS the revocation of access for all members, PLUS jeopardizing any proposed future extensions to the permitted area.
The City of Holdfast Bay: There is only one zone within this Council area that allows kitesurfing. This area is along Burnham Rd in Kingston Park. Please refer to the following link for details. http://www.holdfast.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Area_for_launching_-__Kite_Surfing.pdf
SAKSA will continue to work with the City of Holdfast Bay to ensure ongoing consultation regarding the interests of kite surfing.
The City of Port Adelaide Enfield: There is only one zone within this council area that allows kitesurfing and it requires that a permit is in place to kite surf there. SAKSA has a permit from the Council and all its members are covered accordingly.
The City of Charles Sturt: Following the permit of CASA, this Council is yet to ban beach access in its zone. However, they have indicated that Kite Surfers are required to abide by the CASA regulation, avoid at all times having kite lines across access paths, and no Instruction of Kite Surfing in heavily populated areas. At this time, the Council’s position on Kitesurfing is delicate and the greatest caution and respect should be paid when kiting in this area.
In terms of conduct:
The committee met on Monday night and rejects totally the use of any sort of aggressive behaviour, be it by SAKSA members or directed at our members. We have also emailed all SAKSA members regarding this. The South Australian Kite Surfing Association is made up of a collection of individuals; while the committee has been elected by the members we cannot control the actions of individuals, we are not a censoring body. The committee has also contacted directly, where possible, those who have raised issues and concerns with SAKSA on recent Seabreeze threads. Now that the issues have been raised we wish to speak directly rather than in a public forum.
We are proud to represent our members and the kiting community of South Australia and on a personal note the committee would like to thank all supportive comments in regards to what the Association is trying to achieve. The committee takes seriously the role of promoting the sport, ensuring beach access and the running of events. We have no commercial interest in kiting, we just love the sport and want to continue doing so. We passionately believe that to ensure ongoing beach access riders need a collective voice, be it SAKSA or AKSA or whoever. SA Kiters come from an incredible variety of backgrounds and are obliging and passionate about their sport; we just want to ensure that we all get to keep doing what we love at our favourite beaches.
Regards
SAKSA Committee
Geoff Gent
Will Chapman
Shaun Crocker
Russell Curtin
Troy Robeck
Drew Radford
Bart Mascolo
Terry Langford
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