A STRONG sense of duty has landed Port Stephens Marine Rescue Unit ex-commander Bob Young in hot water, with the volunteer now fighting a possible expulsion from the organisation.
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In February Mr Young was suspended from duty pending expulsion by Marine Rescue NSW (MRNSW) commissioner Stacey Tannos.
It followed a "confrontational" email sent by Mr Young to Mr Tannos in February outlining his concerns with communication, training and a new system to be used by marine rescue units called Seahawk.
The Examiner can reveal that in November 2013, Mr Young raised concern with MRNSW about the internally developed Seahawk system. The system went live on December 1.
Among the perceived flaws found by unit members was that logged-on boats dropped off the vessel tracking system.
MRNSW was contacted for comment.
Media and marketing officer Ken McMannus said no comment could be made as it was an internal matter.
Mr Young said this flaw put lives at risk.
"I have not only a duty of care for the recreational boating community of Port Stephens and of those transiting the NSW coastline, but also for the welfare of the marine rescue volunteers at Port Stephens who maintain a 24-hour-a-day radio watch," Mr Young said.
"As a responsible unit commander I was not prepared to jeopardise this and place both the boating public and my members at any potential risk."
He sent an email with his concerns on February 19, and advised Mr Tannos he would not stand for re-election as unit commander and would go on the inactive list for 12 months.
Mr Tannos responded to Mr Young's email on February 25, formally advising him he was suspended for breaching MRNSW's code of conduct.
"It is my view that you have breached the code of conduct to the extent that your expulsion from Marine Rescue NSW is warranted," Mr Tannos wrote in a letter seen by the Examiner.
"I will be making this recommendation to the board."
It was recommended that Mr Young be suspended and expelled for not conducting himself professionally, not respecting the rights of or treating other MRNSW employees and members with respect, and behaving in an offensive and embarrassing manner.
He was also accused of being aggressive towards MRNSW's state training manager.
Mr Young has denied all the allegations, and has defended himself against them.
"I had two weeks to write against the suspension, which I did at the same time I lodged a grievance claim against the commissioner."
Mr Young met with the MRNSW board on Saturday, April 12.
A decision on his expulsion is still pending.
