Australian PM Turnbull fined for not wearing life-jacket on boat

Sydney, Dec 29 (IANS) Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was fined on Friday for not wearing a life-jacket while steering his inflatable dinghy near his residence on the Sydney Harbour.

The Prime Minister was photographed at the helm of the motorised dinghy on Wednesday. He was wearing a T-shirt but no life-jacket, a breach of New South Wales (NSW) state maritime regulations, reports the Guardian.

Turnbull said he was only moving the boat 20 metres between a jetty and the beach next to the his house.

NSW Maritime Services investigated the incident and on Friday delivered a A$250 fine. A spokesman for Turnbull said the fine would be paid.

In response, the Prime Minister said on a Facebook post: “The rules can often seem very technical, but they are there to keep us safe and we should all comply with them.

“So lesson learned; I will make sure I always wear a life jacket in my dinghy regardless of how close I am to the shore, just as I always do on my kayak.”

Angus Mitchell, executive director of NSW Maritime, said the incident was a “timely reminder” of the need for safety on the water, the Guardian reported.

On December 22, a 73-year-old man died and two others were rescued after their vessel capsized in the seas off Kurnell in Sydney’s south.

The police said the the three men were “caught out by the waves” and were not believed to be wearing life-jackets.