Boating restrictions have eased along upstream reaches of the River Murray in South Australia ahead of a lengthy and expensive clean-up operation, as floodwaters gradually recede.
Motorised vessels including speedboats and jetskis can now return to the water for recreational purposes upstream of Lock 3, provided they obey speed limits.
But existing restrictions will remain in southern zones of the river for the time being.
Restrictions will also remain on kayaks and houseboats in the upstream zones.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the decision to ease the curtailment of activities — which was authorised by the state's police commissioner — represented a "first sign" that the weeks-long flood emergency was now entering the clean-up phase.
"Basically from Barmera to the border, we will now have an easing of restrictions so that motorised vessels can go on the water," he said.
"People can now go out on the water, in their dinghy, throw a line in, do some yabbying — just make sure you observe some basic rules when it comes to personal safety.
"We are now starting to ease our way into a different phase, there will be challenges still confronting us when it comes to this flooding event. We know there's a big clean-up effort in front of us."
Police Commissioner and State Coordinator Grant Stevens said vessels would have to obey speed limits of 10 knots, reduced to 4 knots at night or "when you're in the vicinity of levees or submerged infrastructure".
"It's not just about the level of water, it's about the flow rate, the ability to determine what sort of obstacles might be submerged in the water — there's a whole range of factors that have been taken into consideration," he said.
"There is a level of safety that can be achieved with people using a bit of common sense at the same time.
"Motorised vessels also include jet skis but they are subjected to the same speed limits. This gives people a chance to get on the river and start undertaking certain recreational activities."
The premier said the reduction in restrictions had been made possible by "far lower" flows, but said hazards still remained and urged river users to take care following the recent death of a man in floodwaters.
"We saw the tragic events last week of a gentleman losing his life on the water, which I think was a stark reminder that this is unique and it can be dangerous," Mr Malinauskas said.
Earlier today, a swiftwater emergency team launched an aerial rescue operation at Younghusband near Mannum after a car became trapped in floodwaters.
Crews from the State Emergency Service (SES) and Queensland Fire and Emergency, who are in SA assisting with flood recovery operations, attended the scene.
One was winched down from a helicopter to the floating vehicle but, "luckily, the people trapped had managed to escape moments before", the SES said.
"We may be seeing flood waters receding slowly, but we are still amid an emergency flood event which poses many risks to our communities."
Swimming, boating, as well as motorised and manual watercraft were banned between the NSW-Victoria border and Wellington on December 20, except for people working, visiting their own properties, making essential deliveries, or responding to emergencies.
Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs then clarified the next day that tour operators could continue to run their tours.
The River Murray was divided into eight "zones" on January 4 to allow flexibility to impose or relax restrictions on different sections as high water levels pass.
Restrictions were expanded to ban people from entering or remaining on a levee except if responding to an emergency, or inspecting, conducting maintenance or repair.
Reduced restrictions follow protest
About 80 boaties protested in Berri on Saturday against restrictions on kayaks, canoes and dinghies using the River Murray for recreational use.
One of the organisers, Loxton resident Ian Cass, who was a neighbour of the man who died last week, said he had written to Mr Malinauskas in the hope restrictions could be eased.
"We got a message back from the premier, because I wrote to the premier, straight away," Mr Cass said.
"The message came back that 'we would not leave it one day longer than necessary', and I'm sorry but the one day's more than passed."
He said it was unlikely big boats would use the Murray and that swimming and water-skiing should still be avoided.
"What we're talking about is the smaller boats that can actually get into the river, because the big boats can't," he said.
"You can't launch them —the boat ramps are all underwater — but these little boats are light.
"They go out into the backwaters, which is where we always operate in floods, going out yabbying."
Riverland MP Tim Whetstone also called for the restrictions to be eased yesterday.
"It is frustrating and, as Mr Cass has said, it's time that the government were a little bit more reactionary in easing, just like they were when they closed the river shut," he said.
