You may know that PWCs (colloquially known as Jet Skis) were banned from Sydney Harbour over 8 years ago on the 1st of October from the NSW Premier Bob Carr. Unfortunately, he provided no argument to support this claim or had provided no explanation as to why they could not be adequately handled under existing laws.
This was a knee jerk reaction on the government to solve certain issues. I’m sure if there were some community engagement in this matter it could have been resolved with all parties being kept happy.
Unfortunately it was the Jet Ski community that came out second best.
We are now on a mission to ride our Harbour once again.
All we want is for people to listen to our side of the story and listen to ways in which we can all share and use the harbour together.

We understand some of the arguments that the government have put forward as reasons to take Jet Skis off the Harbour. But we are here to work with all parties/governments on each specific reason for the ban and hopefully work our way back on the Sydney Harbour.
I am quite confident that we can come to some sort of an agreement as long as people are willing to give us a chance and listen to our side.

We believe we have been dealt a harsh blow not just for the riders but also for the economy you only have to look at the number of Jet Ski dealers which have closed over the past eight years to see only a handful left in Sydney. It will bring much needed funding back in to the community and local business. This ban affected a variety of people, business and communities. We want to put forward to the government ways in which we can work with all parties involved and come to a mutual agreement on how we can share Sydney Harbour again.

Jet Skiing is a fun and safe sport and a great family outing it provides hours of entertainment on and off the water. It is a great hobby to have. We understand that there are a minority that ruin it for the rest of them. It is just the same as cars and motorcyclist; they don’t ban all cars/motorbikes off the road just because one person speeds, they just impose tougher laws and restrictions or revoke their license. Why just completely ride us off and ban us from the Harbour? WORK with us, communicate; we will listen. We are all for the laws and will back the government on clamping down on those who do the wrong thing. Don’t wipe us out as a whole.
We understand that it is the minority of jet skiers than ruin it for us all.

NSW Waterways had over 26 000 Personal Watercraft License holders in 2006 , up some 20% from 1999-2000. The 551 infringements issued in 2000 by Waterways, represents a small minority of only 2% of License holders - and not all of the 551 reported infringements were in Sydney Harbour. Why are there 98% of personal watercraft users being penalized in this way?

Tests have shown that today's personal watercraft is substantially quieter, new PWCs have vastly improved sound dampening systems and extremely low emission levels. Most are now more efficient and quieter than many other vessels, including those with stern drive and inboard engines.

In defence of Jet skiers it cannot be blamed on the impact Jet Skis have on the environment. It has been publicly known that they have less impact on the environment than the normal outboard motor.
They are quieter than most modern boats. With the new introduction of the 4 stroke motors in all skis they actually produce less emission than current boats and do not leave pollutants in the water as they now all use a closed loop cooling system. The propeller in the Jet Ski is inside the hull and doesn’t protrude out, therefore doesn’t harm the environment or cause erosion. 

I think that 8 Years of not being able to use the best Harbour in the world is great enough punishment.
Don’t get us wrong we don’t want to take ownership of the Harbour. We just want to share in a slice of the beautiful piece of Harbour that we once enjoyed as a state. Now only the ones with boats or catching a ferry can enjoy.


One of my favourite past times is organising a BBQ with the family and friends, on a nice summers day down at our local park, on the Harbour, taking my kids for a ride and cooling down. It is just getting too hard now. We have been all crammed in to a few small bays and beaches, which makes thing even more dangerous.

The Jet Ski community in NSW is a great bunch of people and 90% are responsible family men. It is inevitable that there will always be the ones that want to challenge the law but that is the case with everything in the world today, motorists, skippers (boats), jet skiers and just people in general. 
I am sure that if we are allowed to use the harbour once again people will not take it for granted.

As previously stated we are all for laws and would encourage some new restrictions in Sydney Harbour just to allow us to use it. We are willing to work with you on this.

We have had some great interest from a range of people interstate and overseas willing to support us in our case. 

To sum up, us Jet skiers will work with the Government in any which way we can to come to a mutual agreement on the use of Sydney Harbour.

We will be hoping to get in touch with representatives who will be willing to work with us on this case.
If you have any suggestions or feedbacks feel free to email us at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please take a moment to have a look around and also dont forget to sign the petition.

Kind Regards

Sam & Dom