Jet ski operator clashes with residents over plans for NSW city

A jet ski hire operator knocked back from operating tours in Sydney has clashed with protestors over new plans for guided tours on the peaceful Lake Illawarra in Wollongong.

Husband and wife Malcolm and Natasha Barry who operate Play Hard Jet Ski Hire confronted around 30 residents gathered to voice concerns over safety, noise and environmental impacts.

"How about you take my kids and support them for the rest of my lives," Malcolm Barry fired back after a barrage of questions from the protestors.

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"You haven't read the reports."

The couple made up signs and attached them to a jetty near the yacht club where a local planning panel had approved the business to operate.

The crowd jeered as Malcolm admitted the "waterway was quiet" but denied the jet skis would have any impact on bird life in the area.

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"One person on a jet ski diminishes the amenity for the other 99 - why are we catering to the one per cent?" one protestor said.

Malcolm jumped on a jet ski to show the noise it would create while traveling at 8km/h near the shore.

A report shows the jet skis would be able to travel at 55 km/h on the open body of the lake.

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He claimed a phone operated GPS would limit motors and direction if operators broke the rules of approval.

"Yes, it does provide excitement and I don't think that's a bad thing," Malcolm said.

Transport for NSW will have the final say on whether the business can operate at the lake as it considers granting a licence.

It confirmed a licence had been denied for Sydney's busy Port Botany after a spate of jet ski related accidents in the surrounding areas.

"That's why it was recommended to come here," Malcolm said.

Protesters questioned the accuracy of reports used to justify the proposal and claimed it had been rushed through without proper consultation.

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Former state Liberal leader Kerry Chikarovski backed the business plan as a "friend" when it came before the planning panel.

"All the decisions involving the Illawarra Yacht Club and Play Hard Jet Ski Pty Ltd were made prior to my joining the board (of the Illawarra Yacht Club)," Chikarovski wrote in an email.

"If the panel believes I should have disclosed my membership of the board I'm very happy to correct the record."

Aside from disrupting wildlife, protestors said the approval was "selling out the lake to make some dollars from tourists."

"It sets a precedent and I think this is the top of a slippery slope," one protestor said.

The Illawarra Dragon Boat Club, which had operated on the lake for decades, also raised safety concerns.

"It's us, it's stand up paddle boarders - jet skis would just wipe us out," another protestor said.

Barry would be allowed to operate multiple tours a day with up to five jet skis at a time.

Maritime is continuing to assess the proposal.

"They did make an application to operate at Port Botany and that application was refused as the waterway was deemed unsuitable," Transport for NSW said.