Speed limit suspended

The 5-knot speed limit on the Hunter River has been temporarily removed to allow a council working party jet-boat access to the remote waterway.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council is reviewing its navigation safety bylaw, which effectively prohibits motorised watercraft from travelling up the river because of the 5-knot limit.

A council working party charged with considering whether the bylaw should be amended for the river was scheduled to make a site visit last year, but winds and low water flows forced a postponement.

Wanaka councillors Lyal Cocks and Leigh Overton, and Queenstown councillor Mel Gazzard will undertake the site visit with harbourmaster Marty Black.

The removal of the speed limit applied only to the council working party's jet-boat trip, which would take place before February 28, Mr Cocks said.

The 5-knot speed limit remained in place for other jet-boat and jet ski users, he said.