In the wake of six drowning deaths at beaches this month, Westpac has today pledged an increase of almost $2million per year to Surf Life Saving to help extend its presence in high risk areas around Australia.

Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) and the Australian Water Safety Council has set a drowning reduction target of 50 per cent with the aim to have fewer than 45 drownings by 2011, and less than 26 by the year 2020. This is feared almost unattainable as they contend with a growing coastal population and the increase in people visiting unpatrolled beaches. Over the past nine months 52 people have drowned along the Australian coast.

There are less than 4 per cent of beaches around Australia patrolled by surf lifesavers or lifeguards and SLSA is seeking to expand its aerial surveillance, on water patrols and through the use of increased communications and technology to cover more of the coast.

The increased funding will target regional Victoria, Southern NSW, Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and the Northern Territory with the extension of helicopter patrols and the launching of new rescue water craft services.

Initially the funding will be providing helicopter services on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and the launch of an offshore rescue boat in Darwin. Other major expansion initiatives in Victoria and NSW will be announced in coming weeks.

Included in this additional funding will also be an allocation of $250k to provide a fund to address a national ‘Hot Spot’ program to target high priority areas which will include specialized equipment or public education initiatives around Australia.
A key factor affecting public safety is growth in population and increased tourism along the coastline, particularly in relation to beach usage. With the number of people taking to the beach continuing to rise, Surf Life Saving fears the number of beach and coastal related drowning and injury could in fact increase and not decrease if they can’t extend their coverage area.

“The rate of growth in coastal areas is more than 60 per cent higher than the national average and continues to gain momentum. We are concerned that we cannot keep pace with the growth, we need to patrol in more places, more often. Westpac’s generous funding boost will allow us to do more,” said Michael Hornby, Group General Manager, Surf Life Saving Australia.

The Australian population has increased by more than 40 per cent from more than 13.3 million to more than 22.2 million since Westpac started its partnership with Surf Life Saving back in 1973. During this time SLSA has grown from 245 clubs to 306 with membership increasing more than five-fold from 29,046 to 150,000.

“We are delighted to offer this extra funding to help those who volunteer their time to watch over us from our beaches and the skies. The investment we have made today will enable both SLSA and the Westpac Chopper to save more lives and ensure that we continue to safely enjoy our great Australian lifestyle,” said Rob Coombe, Group Executive, Westpac.

“In addition to the monetary investment, we have also set out a challenge to ourselves – we will mobilise our network to get behind these great partnerships by donating one million minutes of staff time to help raise additional money, which will result in achieving even more than what has been announced today.

“We have a long history of rolling up our sleeves, providing practical, hands-on support to communities when they need it most. This will start in May with branches supporting the Westpac Chopper, followed later in the year with a tailored Surf Life Saving program,” said Mr Coombe.