Francesca Rudkin: No win for the fun police this week

It was great to see the fun police did not win this week - and really cool to see it was partially driven by primary school kids who stood up for the New Zealand way of life. And yes, I’m talking about the right to jump off a jetty!

The Tasman District Council has had to reword a proposed bylaw which would have inadvertently banned swimming or diving off wharfs and jetties following a groundswell of objections, including from Lake Rotoiti School students.

The children pointed out how a ban would crush people’s happiness and the fun they had together. They also questioned who would enforce the law, and my favourite complaint - it was simply a “very dumb idea”.

Lake Rotoiti School principal Mike Allen backed his students, making the point that the jetty jump was at a picturesque tourist hotspot and that he was appalled by the idea of regulating a New Zealand tradition and rite of passage. I couldn’t agree more.

There is much we’re not allowed to do these days. We have become more protective of our children, focusing on what may go wrong rather than learning by living. Sure, you need to use some common sense. Jetty and wharf jumpers shouldn’t be flying off in front of boats or jumping at busy times, and there needs to a good understanding between everyone using the jetty. But surely jumping off stuff is just part of being a Kiwi.

My memories of growing up in New Zealand are filled with making the most of what this gorgeous country has to offer - for free. We spent days walking in National Parks, playing in the surf, jumping off whatever we could, picnicking at reserves. It was a joyful, wholesome way to kill a weekend with family and friends.

And it’s what we’ve continued to do with our kids. If we’re near a jetty and the water is deep, clear and safe – and we’re not in the way of boaties - then we jump.

And jumping isn’t just for kids. As we grow up, we tick off all those grown up milestones - find a partner, buy a house, have kids, and somewhere along the way we stop playing. We forget that its perfectly fine for adults to enjoy the fun stuff in life - like kids do.

I’ve always enjoyed jumping off things, but never as much as doing it with my kids. The cool thing about jumping off a wharf or a jetty is it creates a level playing field. We all share the experience. It’s fun, exhilarating and at times terrifying. I’ve gently encouraged my kids to jump off all sorts of things - and as they’ve grown they have returned the favour, with the challenges getting higher and scarier.

Not everyone likes the common sense approach around issues like this. Some like the idea of regulation. I can understand the council is probably trying to tick off a potential health and safety concern and why this would make things easier for boaties, but everyone should be able to have fun at a lake.

So while some may like to wrap everything up in a rule of regulation, I’m glad kids and adults can continue to legally and simply have some fun in the stunning Nelson Lakes District this summer. As an added bonus, some youngsters have learnt how to make a submission to a council. A nice civics lesson right there.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
So it was great to see the Fun Police did
not win this week and really cool to see it
was partly driven by primary school kids who stood up
for the New Zealand way of life. And yes, I
am talking about the right to jump off a jetty.
The Tasman District Council has had to reword a proposed
by law which would have inadvertently band swimming or diving

(00:33):
off warps and jetties, following a ground spell of objections,
including from Lake Lo to Ety's student school students. The
children pointed out how a band would crush people's happiness
and the fun they had together. They also questioned who
would enforce the law and my favorite complaint, it was
simply a very dumb idea Lake wrote to ET's School
principal Mike Allen Bachter's students, making the point that the

(00:55):
jetty jump was a picturesque tourist hotspot and that he
was appalled by the idea of regulating a New Zealand
tradition and rite of passage. And I couldn't agree more.
There is much we're not allowed to do. These days,
we've become more protective of our children, focusing on what
may go wrong rather than learning by living. Sure you
need to use some common sense. Jetty and wolf jumpers

(01:16):
shouldn't be flying off in front of boats or jumping
at busy times, and there needs to be a good
understanding between everyone using the jetty. But surely jumping off
stuff is part of being a Kiwi. My memories of
growing up in New Zealand are filled with making the
most of what this gorgeous country has to offer for free.
We spent days walking in national parks, playing in surf,

(01:38):
jumping off whatever we could, picnicking at reserves. It's a joyful,
wholesome way to kill a weekend with family and friends,
and it's what we've continued to do with our kids.
If we near a jetty and the water is deep
and clear and safe and we're not in the way
of boats, we jump. And jumping isn't just for kids.
As we grow up, we tick off all those growing

(01:59):
up milestones, find a partner, buy a house, have kids,
and somewhere along the way we stop playing. We forget
that it's perfectly fine for adults. To enjoy the fun
stuff in life like kids do. I've always enjoyed jumping
off things, but never as much as doing it with
my kids. The cool thing about jumping off a wall
for a jetty is it creates a level playing field.
We all share the experience. It's fun, exhilarating, and at

(02:21):
times terrifying. I've gently encouraged my kids to jump off
all sorts of things, and as they've grown, they have
returned the favor, with the challenges getting higher and scarier.
Not everyone likes the common sense approach around isshoes like this.
Some like the idea of regulation, and I can understand
the councilors probably trying to tick off a potential health

(02:42):
and safety concern, and I can understand why this would
make things easier for boaties. But everyone should be able
to have fun at a lake. So while some may
like to wrap everything up in a rule or regulation,
I'm glad kids and adults can continue to legally and
simply have some fun in the stunning Nelson Lakes District
this summer. As an added bonus, some youngsters have learned

(03:05):
how to make a submission too council a nice CIVIX
lesson right there. I'm heading to the Nelson Lakes area
for some hiking late November. I am going to take
a moment when there are no boats around to launch
myself off the lake rot to et Jetty, and I'm
going to love every minute of it.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it Be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.