Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the motion moved by the member for Moncrieff. I would like to commend the member on bringing this very worthy motion before the House. I was very proud when the Australian government chose 2007 as the Year of the Surf Lifesaver. Being the 100th anniversary of this exceptionally important organisation makes it a fitting time to celebrate the role it plays in making our beaches safe and, most importantly, in saving lives.

The second part of this motion notes not only the role of surf-lifesavers in making our beaches safer but also the 500,000 lives which have been saved on Australian beaches. There are 500,000 people who, but for the hard work of these dedicated volunteers, would have had their lives cut tragically short and 500,000 families who would have been grieving a needless loss. The people who make surf-lifesaving tick are volunteers. It is the largest volunteer organisation of its kind, and thousands of Australians give their time, and often risk their own lives and personal safety, in the pursuit of safer beaches and quite simply to save lives. These volunteers and Surf Life Saving Australia deserve to be commended for that commitment.

Of the 18 surf-lifesaving clubs in South Australia, five are in my electorate of Kingston, and I have seen firsthand the hard work they do. In addition to the surf-lifesaving focus they have, these clubs also play an important role in the lives of the young people, the young nippers, the club members, who participate in the organisation with such passion. So often we come across teenagers with a lack of purpose who fall victim to antisocial behaviour and negative influences. Surf-lifesaving clubs throughout the country provide an alternative for these young people. For a century now, they have provided these young people with social and teamwork skills, leadership skills, and a safe and healthy environment for them to form bonds and friendships which last a lifetime. I would like to take this opportunity to particularly commend the hard work I have seen at the surf-lifesaving clubs in my electorate of Kingston, including the Aldinga Bay, Christies Beach, Moana, Port Noarlunga and Southport surf-lifesaving clubs.

I noticed, when I received my autumn edition of Surf Life Saving Australia’s BeachSafe newsletter, an article about Australia’s newest Muslim surf-lifesavers, who are now patrolling the beaches at Cronulla. The article went on to discuss the introduction of the new burqini, which is enabling Muslim women to participate as well. It makes you proud to read about this positive step, and it reiterates the important social role of Surf Life Saving Australia, who are providing real solutions to social problems other organisations are unable or unwilling to tackle.

The Australian government supports surf-lifesaving, and not just through rhetoric. This government provides millions of dollars to the program because it understands the important role they play and because they are invaluable on our beaches. Many international tourists, many of whom cannot swim, flock to Australia because of the promotion of our beaches. We have a responsibility to those tourists as well as to our own citizens to ensure our beaches are safe. Surf Life Saving Australia provide that assurance by conducting their patrols on over 300 beaches and along some 20,000 kilometres of lovely coastline. Each summer, surf-lifesavers are involved in around 10,000 rescues and 25,000 first aid treatments as well as giving safety advice to more than 150,000 other beach users.

The federal government are very happy and very proud to support this effort because we understand the very important role surf-lifesavers play. We are very proud that as a government we have managed the economy in such a way that we are able to provide funding like this to such an important organisation. We will continue to work hard to ensure we are able to continue to support important services like this in the future. I commend this very important organisation on its hard work and I commend this motion on its recognition of Surf Life Saving Australia’s very valued work.

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