Have your say on rock fishing safety in the Illawarra

The upper house of parliament has passed proposed legislation that would extend safety provisions along the NSW coast.

Of the 27 coastal local government areas in NSW, only eight have opted in to make life jackets mandatory at high-risk locations.

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This feedback will help council decide whether it opts in to the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016. It began discussing the process late May.

If it did opt-in, targeted locations within the local government area would be declared as high-risk rock fishing locations and wearing life jackets would become mandatory.

Seeking community comment is the council's latest step in its ongoing response address concerns about the swathe of deaths on our coastline - including teenage fisherman Brenden Buxton Hurd at Hill 60 in April.

"We've seen six families and their friends and networks devastated by the deaths of loved ones while rock fishing since January last year and we need to find a way to reduce this risk to individuals and to the emergency services who are called in to assist when something goes wrong,'' Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery said.

Council has installed warning signs at Hill 60, worked with Surf Life Saving, NSW Maritime Police and other key agencies on educational opportunities, the Lord Mayor said.

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"We are well-aware that there is debate in the NSW State Parliament about legislation relating to life jackets and we welcome these broader conversations,'' Cr Bradbery said.

"However, it is also important that as a community we have our own views and a clear position on the issue of rock fishing safety."

Community consultation is open until Sunday, July 24, 2022 through the council's website.