A funding blind spot is making our beaches less safe
It’s been another horrific summer of coastal drownings in Australia, with 47 people tragically killed so far. Surf Life Saving Australia.
This statistic does not come close to conveying the magnitude of the emotional, social and economic impacts associated with every drowning.
Therefore, it should be a serious concern. Australian Water Security Strategy 2030 Midpoint UpdateA report released last year by the Australian Water Safety Council showed beach drowning rates have increased significantly over the past five years.
Beaches have been identified as a priority requiring immediate safety attention, including expanding lifeguard service times and locations. So what are we doing to urgently solve this problem? I claim it is inadequate.
Beach visitation has increased in recent years; More people are looking for more regional beaches that are less crowded and often unpatrolled. Many also enter the water outside patrolled areas and times after flags are lowered, especially on warm summer evenings.
It is not surprising that all beach drowning deaths in NSW this summer and most previous summers have occurred away from lifesaving services or outside patrol times. So why don’t we keep pace with increased beach visitation by increasing the presence of lifeguards and lifeguards on our beaches? The answer comes down to logistics and financing.
I recently witnessed the aftermath of a non-fatal drowning on a beach near Wollongong. The beach was patrolled with flags set up next to the surf lifesaving club at the northern end of the beach. But many people were swimming at the unsupervised southern end of the beach, where there is ample parking, easy access and a variety of currents.
The council’s lifeguard and several paramedics were treating a young boy who was caught in a rip current at the south end and was rescued by surfers. Luckily he was OK, but it was a close call and afterward the lifeguard told me that the council wanted to put an additional lifeguard on that part of the beach but couldn’t afford it. This is a problem along much of the NSW coast. Many municipalities do not have sufficient funding to expand beach lifeguard services at times or locations where they are most needed.
Despite their ubiquitous beach presence and 18 seasons of reality shows Bondi Rescue, Many people still do not understand the difference between lifeguards, who are paid by councils and usually patrol the more popular beaches seven days a week and throughout the year, and surf lifeguards, who are volunteers who patrol on weekends and bank holidays between September and April.
A report recently published by UNSW Beach Safety Research Group It showed that in a typical year, 77 per cent of paid lifeguards were assigned to patrol only NSW beaches, compared to 14 per cent of volunteer lifeguards. The rest of the time, the two work together.
In some city councils in Sydney and Newcastle, volunteer lifeguards never patrol without the presence of paid lifeguards. So it’s hard not to argue that paid lifeguards are the backbone of beach safety in NSW.
Both paid and volunteer services are incredibly valuable to keep our beaches safe. As a former patrol captain and life member of my surf lifesaving club, I have seen firsthand the amazing benefits of the volunteer surf lifesaving movement. However, it is not realistic or fair to expect volunteers to increase patrol hours and locations, especially at a time when some clubs are struggling to find enough active patrol members.
However, while Surf Life Saving NSW has traditionally received significant funding from the NSW government, the most recent record four-year funding was achieved. $72 million fund Due to its investment, no external funding is being provided or made available to councils to help them expand paid lifeguard services.
Councils may simply seek to reallocate funds within their own budgets to extend lifeguard patrol hours and add lifeguards to popular beaches, both patrolled and unpatrolled.
Let’s continue to support our volunteers, but if we really want to get serious about reducing the number of beach drownings, the NSW government should also start funding councils to expand paid lifeguard services. More often than not, having more lifeguards on our beaches can only be a good thing.
Rob Brander is a professor in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of NSW and a researcher with the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group.
Robert Brander- Rob Brander is a professor in the UNSW School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
