Image: Surf Life Saving Australia / Facebook
Kingsford Smith MP Matt Thistlethwaite has warned Australians to be careful at beaches over the summer and to follow the rules.
“No one drowns between the red and yellow flags in Australia,” the government MP, whose electorate borders the sea, told reporters in front of the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. “That perfectly highlights the value of surf life saving to the Australian community each summer, and it also highlights the dangers.”
“As Australians begin to go away on their summer holidays, they need to heed the advice of surf life savers. Always swim at patrolled beaches, always swim between the red and yellow flags, always obey the instructions of life savers. If you’re rock fishing, never fish alone and always take the appropriate safety precautions, including wearing a life jacket, which is mandatory in New South Wales.”
“If people follow the surf safety regulations and rules, they will have a wonderful day at the beach and return home safely to their families.”
Most drownings take place off non-patrolled beaches
With sunshine ahead, the public was enjoined to not lose sight of safety.
“A big factor in the number of drownings each year is the weather. And this surf season, we haven’t had the best weather, which has kept people away from the beaches, and that’s really, really important when it comes to drowning statistics.”
“But of course, the weather is going to fine up, and we’ll see Australians flock to our beaches and our coast over the holiday period. That’s when we need to be ever vigilant to ensure people obey the instructions of Surf Life Saving Australia.”
“Most people, unfortunately, drown on unpatrolled beaches when they go on holidays. That’s a salient warning that we need to ensure that people obey the instructions of life savers, they swim at patrolled beaches and that they swim between the red and yellow flags.”
Water safety education for migrant Australians
Thistlethwaite said that there has been an increase in drownings amongst migrant populations.
“About 30 percent of those who drown in Australia are from multicultural backgrounds. They don’t have the same background in swimming and water safety education that Australians born here have.”
He spruiked the $5 million Multicultural Communities Swimming and Water Safety Program, first pledged in April before the election.
The initiative, he said, “specifically targets those who are missing out on water safety education from multicultural backgrounds.”
“That policy is being rolled out on top of the $35 million our government already provides to Surf Life Saving Australia and Royal Life Saving.”
A Monash University study published in November endorsed incorporating beach safety essentials into English education for migrants, including temporary arrivals such as university students.
The researchers found that “teaching beach safety through an English language reading exercise has a significantly positive impact on users’ knowledge of beach safety, even though they may have had no prior interest in the topic.”
“This intervention has considerable potential to educate a much wider cohort in Australia and other countries on beach safety.”
The research was conducted in conjunction with Surf Life Saving Australia and the Beach Safety Research Group at the University of New South Wales.
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