An expert roundtable was held on March 4 to look at how more lives can be saved on NSW beaches after more than a dozen coastal drownings this Summer, including three on the Central Coast.
Two men drowned on Central Coast beaches on Christmas Day – one at Umina Beach and one at Copacabana.
A third man drowned near Ettalong Beach on Saturday, January 6.
Led by Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib, the Coastal Water Safety Roundtable will bring together rescue organisations, researchers and government agencies following a rise in water-related fatalities in recent years, with surf lifesavers also called on to make an increasing number of rescues.
There were 14 coastal drownings in NSW this Summer, and 36 in total since July 1, 2023.
This follows 48 drownings in 2022-23 – a 12 per cent increase on the 10-year average – and 52 in 2021-2022.
Surf lifesavers carried out a total of 3,077 rescues over the busy swimming season and more than 3,750 since July 1.
The roundtable was an opportunity for greater collaboration as experts and government agencies shared knowledge and ideas.
Discussions explored what occurred over the season, the actions that were taken and how participants can work together to improve outcomes in the future.
The NSW Government made a record funding uplift of $23M over four years for Surf Life Saving NSW in the 2023-24 state budget, which also saw nearly $5.8M to Surf Life Saving Australia for the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter.
“Our SLSNSW volunteers and paid lifesavers do an excellent job protecting our beaches, performing more than 3,750 rescues since July 1,” Dib said.
“Water safety is a shared responsibility that requires a united effort, and we want to identify opportunities to further reduce the number of lives lost along our coast.
“It’s not just about better emergency response, it is also about building awareness in communities and finding those preventative actions that might save lives down the road.
“We want every person in NSW to be able to enjoy our stunning coastline and waterways safely, and this roundtable is all about finding ways to do that as more people visit the beach every year.
Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steve Pearce said all of the 14 coastal drownings over Summer occurred at unpatrolled locations.
“It is important we focus on education, early alerting to incidents and equipping our lifesavers with the tools they need to respond quickly,” he said.
“Lifesavers and lifeguards do an incredible job, so our focus needs to turn to how to prevent people drowning when we can’t be there to prevent these tragedies.”