"If we'd have known about this we could have protested" – Catherine Holland, Illawarra Dragon Boat Club

Since The Illawarra Flame reported last week that Wollongong Council's independent planning panel had approved the operation of a jet ski hire business on Lake Illawarra, we've received numerous complaints and concerns from people who love the lake, live near it, or use it for their recreation. 

Some of them have been on or near the lake for decades, and the majority of them say they were given no warning that the jet ski hire business was coming. And nor was Shellharbour Council, which jointly manages Lake Illawarra with Wollongong Council and the NSW Government via a memorandum of understanding.

In approving the application, Wollongong Council's independent planning panel said: "Submissions from the community have been considered and the development does not conflict with the public interest." The people we've spoken to said they're very interested, they just knew nothing about it and so had no opportunity to raise their concerns.

Jet ski businesses rejected three times

Questions have also been raised about why Wollongong Council rejected applications to operate jet ski hire businesses three times in the 1980s but gave the latest application the green light.

The current proponent, Play Hard Jet Skis, plans to operate from beside the Illawarra Yacht Club at Warrawong. The approval allows owner/operator Malcolm Barry to conduct "tours" of the lake on a 16-kilometre circuit most days of the week from 8am to 5pm. The jet skis will be speed limited to 55km/hr and the youngest driver of the jet skis will be aged 12 with allowance for seven-year-old passengers.

Malcolm, who plans to relocate his existing business from Botany Bay to Lake Illawarra, says he'll be good for the region and his operation will create no problems for the people who he plans to share the lake with. He's had support from the yacht club and Bec Dunning, who operates a paddleboard hire business near the lake's entrance. She says the jet ski business will be good for local tourism.

Last week we reported on the concerns from Illawarra Birders, who fear the jet ski operation will harm threatened and protected bird species living on and near the lake. 

'We received no notification' – kayaker

Hundreds of people use the lake for recreation each week, to improve their fitness and for sporting competitions.

Gabrielle Frawley lives near the lake at Primbee and is a long-time member of the Illawarra Canoe Club.

"We received no notification," she said. "When we're on the water we'll have no option but to go along the route of the jet skis. Wherever we paddle we'll be in the thick of this group."

Gabrielle said three watersport groups operate from a site just to the north of the yacht club and none of them received notification from Council that the jet ski business was being proposed.

"It's been woeful; there's been no consultation. They seem to have no idea of what is involved and how many watersports there are on Lake Illawarra. They simply haven't thought about the long-term users of the lake."

'This will be highly dangerous' – dragon boater

Catherine Holland has been dragon boating on Lake Illawarra since 2002 as a member of the Illawarra Dragon Boat Club.

"We're all very upset that we didn't have any prior notice so we could have our say," Catherine said. "We've got members in our club in our 70s and 80s and they'll be competing on the lake with 12-year-olds riding jet skis at 55km/hr.

"I can't imagine what's going to happen when we have 22 people in our boats low to the water and the wake from the jet skis will just tip them out. This will be highly dangerous," Catherine said.

"People in this area deserve to be told about what's happening on the lake. We're all so upset this is happening and we have no idea where they will be going. If we’d have known about it we could have protested, and there’s no way they’d have approved it.”

'I don't know how this got passed' – outrigger

John Heard is the president of the Five Islands Outrigger Canoe Club and he says because the club's activity normally happens at sunrise, members will be off the water by the time the jet skis get underway. Despite that, he shares the concerns of others about the lack of notification and the potential risk to lake users.

"I don't know how they got this passed," John said. "I don't think anyone received notification and I can see dragon boats at risk of tipping over as the jet skis pass. They're saying they won't operate in depths of less than two metres on the lake but the average depth is only 2.1 metres. I can't see how they can do it."

The approval process for the jet ski business is complex and because Wollongong's elected councillors have to remain at arm's length from the process, they have no say in whether the operation will be a good thing or not for Lake Illawarra.

The independent planning panel did receive 16 submissions during the consultation process, most were concerned about the impact of regular jet ski tours on the lake's ecology.

Despite the objections, the panel granted Play Hard Jet Skis a two-year approval and reduced the number of jet skis touring the lake from the requested eight to four.

Memorandum of understanding

Since the abolition of the Lake Illawarra Authority in 2014, management responsibility for the lake is now shared between Wollongong and Shellharbour Councils – who have a memorandum of understanding – and the NSW Government. 

Protection of the lake is the overarching aim of the Lake Illawarra Coastal Management Program (2020-2030) and it's also the principal aim of the Lake Illawarra Coastal Management Plan Implementation Group, which is currently chaired by Wollongong.

Councillors from Wollongong and Shellharbour sit on the group together with representatives from relevant NSW Government departments.

The lake management committee has met on at least two occasions since the jet ski hire development application was lodged and The Illawarra Flame understands it was not on the agenda and has never been discussed.

Lake committee has no role, Shellharbour Mayor wasn't aware

Cr Ann Martin, who chairs the committee, said Council’s planning staff would have been involved in the DA process. “The lake committee does not have a consideration role, nor do we get involved with DA matters,” Cr Martin said.

Shellharbour's Mayor, Councillor Chris Homer, regularly attends those lake committee meetings and when we asked him what he knew of the jet ski DA he said, "That's news to me."

Cr Homer said he was "surprised" that the DA had been approved without his knowledge but "as an outdoors person I'd like to see more activity on the lake if done well. I have faith that all the checks and balances have been followed during the process."

Play Hard Jet Ski owner Malcolm Barry said he'd originally approached Shellharbour Council to establish his business on that side of the lake but was told by Council staff, don't bother.

"Play Hard Jet Ski Hire approached Shellharbour City Council in 2023 in relation to establishing a base at Ski Way Park in Oak Flats," a Shellharbour Council spokesperson said. "However, no formal licence or development application was ever submitted to Council."

Shellharbour Council also confirmed: "Council has not been consulted about any jet ski business established in the Wollongong Local Government Area."

Proposal didn't require EPA consultation – council

In a statement, Wollongong Council said: "As Council considered the on-land activities associated with the establishment and operational aspects of the business, the exhibition (6 March - 3 April 2025) included notification to residents and businesses in the area surrounding the Illawarra Yacht Club. The DA did not include or relate to land shared with any other local council for the purpose of the DA assessment. Water-based activities related to the business are subject to approval and regulation by external state agencies, including Transport for NSW (Maritime)."

When asked by The Flame if NSW's independent environmental regulator, the Environment Protection Authority, had been consulted about the jet ski plans, Council said, "the proposal does not meet any thresholds required for consultation with the EPA".

Lake user groups right around the lake said they're at a loss to understand why Council didn't think to notify them as part of the DA process, given the 16km circuit will cut across areas they use regularly.

Sailing club has safety concerns

Tony Jarrett is treasurer of the Oak Flats Sailing Club. He heard nothing from Wollongong Council but "I did get a call from the jet ski operator seeking our support, and we decided we wouldn't".

Tony said his club has safety concerns "especially for young kids who go sailing. There was talk about this jet ski business coming here years ago and we didn't want it then either. It will infringe on our access to the lake and impact on our events every weekend."

His views were shared by Heather Gavin, speaking on behalf of Shellharbour City Rowing Club: "We row all the way up to Tallawarra and Kanahooka so, of course, we'll be affected."

Heather said they often had up to 60 boats on the lake for their events. "We're very disappointed it's going ahead; we would have liked to be consulted. Rowing sculls are close to the water and we have problems with any wake from motorised boats which can tip you out if they're not a good distance away."

Jet skis rejected in the 80s, 'what's changed?'

An Illawarra Birders member, Ros Atkins, is angry about how the approval had been able to proceed "without full, thorough consultation". She also questioned why Wollongong Council, at a time the lake was managed by the Lake Illawarra Authority, refused jet ski hire applications on three occasions in the 1980s.

"That was in February 1985 at Kanahooka, in June 1985 at Kully Bay in Warrawong, and then again in June 1988 at Windang," Ros said.

"So, what's changed between the 1980s and now? Perhaps in those days the Council recognised the ecological value of the lake and its value to the wider community," Ros said. "Perhaps they consulted more broadly in the good old days, and the community gave jet skis the big thumbs down. Or maybe our Council in the 80s took the same view as Shellharbour Council did on this occasion and sent them on their way.

"A noisy jet ski business disturbing the peace and the wildlife on one of our best regional environmental assets is just a bridge too far, And maybe those blanket rejections from all those years ago is the reason why we haven't had any applications for jet ski businesses for the past 40 years."

Jet skis listed among threats to the lake

Another bird lover, Cathy Martin, is also frustrated by Council's decision, pointing to a Wollongong Council publication which lists "damage caused by boat propellers, jet skis and anchors" as among the biggest threats to Lake Illawarra.

In her letter expressing concern to the Lord Mayor, Cathy said: "In a time of great need of places to take our families, including children and visitors and tourists, the rights of a few (those who seek noisy thrills and spills from which one business will profit) have been superseded (with an extreme lack of consultation and regard) by sacrificing the rights of the many to enjoy the natural quietude, and peaceful recreational enjoyment, of this beautiful lake. A year or so ago I saw seals playing in the lake."

A Wollongong Council spokesperson confirmed, "there are no avenues for third-party appeal regarding the merits of a decision made by the Wollongong Local Planning Panel".

A final approval for the jet ski hire application now rests with the NSW Government and Ros says she's written to the relevant Minister, asking him to "see sense". She's also written to the Member for Wollongong Paul Scully and Lord Mayor Councillor Tania Brown seeking their support.

"I just hope after this application is finally turned down we have another 40 years of blissful peace and quiet on our community's lake," Ros said.

In recent days, Malcolm Barry has had his jet skis on the lake preparing to get his new Wollongong-based business underway. He told The Illawarra Flame he's hoping for an early final approval from the state government so he can launch his first tours when the school holidays begin on 26 September.