Shoalhaven community calls for better resourcing on remote beaches

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Locals on the New South Wales south coast are addressing gaps in beach safety by raising money to install safety kits and rescue stations on remote beaches.

Transcript

00:00A lot of them are quite a distance for an ambulance to get to.

00:05They are, some are remote, some are on dirt roads,

00:08some do not have mobile reception or very little mobile reception.

00:12So for people going into these remote beaches,

00:15it's really important that they stop and think and have a look,

00:20not just at the water and the conditions,

00:22but also about what phone reception they might have,

00:25what flotation devices they might have with them

00:28if someone does get in trouble.

00:30And knowing what they would do if something did go wrong.

00:34For people who are getting into trouble in the water down there,

00:37do you tend to find that it's a mix of locals and visitors

00:40or is it just out-of-towners who are unfamiliar with the beaches?

00:43It's usually out-of-towners that are unfamiliar with the beaches

00:47and the conditions.

00:48They don't know how to read the surf.

00:50They don't realise that tides can come in very quickly

00:53and that conditions can change quickly.

00:56And it's really important that people take that message

00:59to stop, look and stay alive.

01:03There have, of course, been two deaths on the south coast since New Year's.

01:08It's just been a horror period for drownings on the east coast.

01:12There's a community campaign now happening in the Shoalhaven

01:15to raise money for beach safety kits.

01:17Can you tell us a bit about that?

01:19That started because I want to make it clear that it's not the responsibility

01:23of surf lifesaving to put these kits in along beaches.

01:27If you look up at the mid-north coast and Pavaa north coast,

01:31it's the councils.

01:32They do the coastal management plans.

01:34They manage our beaches.

01:36And on the north coast, they've got many of these rescue stations.

01:40And down here, we've started at Bendalong and Menyana.

01:44They've put in eight.

01:45They've raised the money.

01:46And, in fact, Shoalhaven City Council put up barriers for them

01:49to install them, and I had to step in and help them.

01:52We've now put the first one here in at Kiola, down on the south coast,

01:57which is a popular beach that's far away from any housing

02:02or any infrastructure.

02:04It was really important that that went in.

02:06And I have to say that Shoalhaven City Council have a really great program

02:11called the 100 Beaches, discover the 100 beaches of the Shoalhaven,

02:17yet we are putting people to these remote locations to discover

02:22and tick off these beaches without any of these rescue kits.

02:25And it's really important that we get Shoalhaven City Council on board

02:29to apply for funds that are available to get these stations in up

02:34and down the south coast without the communities having

02:37to raise these funds themselves.

02:39I mean, it is amazing that communities are stepping in

02:42to take on the responsibility and to fill these gaps.

02:45Can you talk through what is at these rescue stations

02:48that are being fundraised for?

02:50So, in each rescue station, we have two rescue tubes,

02:55one for the person being rescued and one for the rescuer,

02:58because as someone who's fifth generation surf life-saving involvement,

03:04often it's the rescuer who ends up getting in trouble.

03:06So, it's really important that there's two tubes,

03:09there's a defibrillator, there's a shark kit,

03:13and there's information on how to operate an AED if required.

03:19So, a basic first aid, shark kit, defibrillator and two rescue tubes.

03:24And, Liza, do we know any stats about how often people

03:28are making use of these kits?

03:31Look, I haven't.

03:32Bendalong would be the...

03:33Bendalong and Menyana would have theirs operated the longest

03:36and would know, but I can tell you that at least one person

03:40every year dies in the beaches between Bawley Point and Pretty Beach,

03:45and it's really important that we have these rescue stations

03:48there when we need them.

03:50And I guess as well as having resources, it's also about education

03:55and talking about the dangers, encouraging people

03:58to plan appropriately, learn to read the beaches.

04:01How do we go about keeping up that dialogue?

04:04Surf life-saving does a great role in that,

04:07and it's probably easier in Sydney to reach a lot of people

04:13and a lot of our multicultural communities than down here,

04:17because we don't have huge multicultural communities here.

04:21So, that education program within schools and within the cities

04:27is really important for people to go to and understand

04:31before they come to this beautiful south coast

04:34and to access our remote beaches.

04:37information in your homes.

04:38I don't want to learn precious that's coming.

04:42If a boat is coming under a beach on alien beings,

04:46we are going to find the same national places that

04:49now may be related to a farmyoub Holmes.

04:51I have裡面icas of the African minority

04:52where you want so communities and citizens

04:54like the afn

04:58of where we go near the beach.

05:00With aim for being able to get carried out

05:02fromeries at all,

05:03let's go over here and tell me about

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