Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My electorate covers a number of prominent eastern suburbs of New South Wales and Sydney, with beaches, headlands and other areas where people swim. With the summer season coming on, it is particularly important that people, both those in the electorate and those who visit the electorate, are well versed in water safety and are able to take advantage of the lifesaving services in the electorate. Last Friday, 13 October, I was able to launch the 2006-07 surf-lifesaving season for the Maroubra Surf Lifesaving Club with Michael Daley, the member for Maroubra, and club president Matt Thistlethwaite.

The year 2006 marks a century of service by the Maroubra Surf Lifesaving Club, providing not only the local community but also visitors to Maroubra and to the beautiful beach there with the opportunity to surf and use the beach in safety. The season of 2005-06 saw 222 rescues, 5,162 preventative actions and 2,093 first aid actions. It shows that this is a particularly active club where there are large numbers of people on the beach, especially in summer. As well, with the growing Maroubra Seals program—now with over 450 junior members registered—this is a particularly large, very healthy and very active club which provides a vital service for the community. Naturally, sponsorship support is critical for the success of the club, and I particularly want to note the support of local businesses, including the Maroubra Seals club, that have done a wonderful job—(Time expired)