Reducing drowning toll number one priority at Australian Water Safety Conference

17.05.2010

LeadingAustralian and international water safety experts will gather in Sydney todayfor the 2010 Australian Water Safety Conference to seek answers as to why therehas been a 20 per cent increase in drownings over 2008-2009, with the overallfigure exceeding 300 for the first time in 7 years.

 

TheConference comes at a difficult time for water safety groups after five peoplewere confirmed rock to have lost their lives after being swept off therocks at points in Western Australia and New South Wales since Saturday, withone person still missing.

Rockfishing was already highlighted by the Australian Water Safety Council as oneof the high risk aquatic activities to address throughout the Conference and iscertain to take significant importance in light of the recent drownings.

Thelatest spike in rock fishing related drownings serves as a timely reminder toall Australians the importance of making water safety a priority – especiallyduring the cooler months when lifesaving services are scaled back.

AustralianWater Safety Council Convenor Rob Bradley said the numbers were concerningconsidering the strong commitment from water safety organisations in taking acollaborative approach to reduce drowning deaths.

"In2008 we released the Australian Water Safety Council (AWSC) strategic planwhich targeted a reduction in drowning deaths in Australia by 50% by 2020.

"TheAWSC identified three key drivers underpinning the strategy to reduce drowningdeaths including taking a life stage perspective, targeting high risk locationsand targeting high risk populations such as indigenous or culturally andlinguistically diverse communities and tourists.

"Whilesignificant steps have been taken in all these areas by member groups of theAWSC, drowning deaths are again on the rise and we need to further look at waysthat we can reduce this toll with the limited resources available to allgroups," said Mr Bradley.

TheAustralian Water Safety Council emphasizes that water safety is everyone'sresponsibility and by providing a forum for Australian and International watersafety experts to share information at the conference, the Council will reviewand incorporate the details presented into the Australian Water Safety Strategy2008-2011.

SurfLife Saving Australia (SLSA) CEO, Brett Williamson, said that while watersafety groups are continuing to break ground in developing and implementingtargeted public education resources and intervention program, people are stillchoosing to put their lives at risk.

"Rockfishing fatalities represent approximately 10 per cent of coastal drowningdeaths each year, with people from multicultural backgrounds over-representedin those statistics, particularly those from Asian background," said MrWilliamson.

"Tragicallythis year we've seen 15 people lose their lives through rock fishing relatedactivities – that is three more than last season.

"Lastyear ASWC members, such as SLSA and Australian National SportfishingAssociation have developed multilingual rock fishing resources such as a safetyDVD, promotional materials and a dedicated website, all designed to break downthe language barrier to educate these high risk populations.

"Theseresources have been rolled out through multicultural community group workshops,multicultural media outlets as well as targeted advertising in high risk areas.

"Overthe next two days rock fishing will form an important agenda item at theAustralian Water Safety Conference and we'll be looking at how we can furthergrow existing campaigns and what further can be done," he said.

In thelast week media reports have also highlighted that those that have lost theirlives around the coastline have not all been confident swimmers, with AUSTSWIMCEO Gordon Mallet believes reinforces the need for everyone to learn to swim.

"Wewant all Australians to learn to swim.  People should not be visiting theocean, dams, pools or lakes unless they possess competent swimming abilities,"said Mr Mallet.

"Manyof the drownings occurring around the country are preventable and one of thebest preventive tools we can promote and encourage people to equip themselveswith is learning how to swim," he said.

Morethan 150 delegates from around Australia as well as Singapore, Philippines andNew Zealand will attend the conference to discuss a wide range of water safetyissues including high risk target groups such as children under five andindigenous communities, high risk aquatic activities such as rock fishing andmuch more.

Theconference will also hear from Lifesaving experts, researchers and scientist onissues such as beach safety (including rip currents and coastal black spots),learn to swim, education and awareness as well as look at rural and remoteareas.

"Enjoyingwater-related activities are deeply entrenched in Australian lifestyle and cultureand with more than 75 per cent of the population living in coastal areas weneed to continue our work towards making water safety a priority in thiscountry," said Mr Bradley.

TheAustralian Water Safety Conference gets underway today at the Novotel BrightonBeach, Sydney and continues tomorrow.

AustralianWater Safety Council – Member Organisations

AUSTSWIM,Royal Life Saving Society Australia, Surf Life Saving Australia, SwimmingAustralia, Standing Committee on Recreation and Sport, Farmsafe Australia, TheChild Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia, Australian NationalSportfishing Association, Drivers Alert Network (DAN) Asia-Pacific, SurfingAustralia, Australian Leisure Facilities Association (ALFA), Australian LocalGovernment Association, Australian Swimming Teachers and Coaches Association,National Marine Safety Committee.

The2010 Australian Water Safety Conference is supported by The AustralianGovernment Department of Health and Ageing.

Formore details visit www.watersafety.com.au