Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to welcome Senator Mark Arbib's launch today of a report titled What is the economic contribution of Surf Life Saving in Australia. There are 153,000 surf lifesavers around Australia. Most people in Australia are aware that Surf Life Saving is Australia's major water safety and rescue authority and is one of the largest volunteer groups in the country. There are 43,000 active volunteer patrolling lifesavers, and those members rescued 12,000 people last year and took an additional 6,000 preventative actions.

The report, which was released today, was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and states that in 2009-10 volunteer lifesavers served 1.3 million hours and helped avoid an estimated 596 drowning deaths and an additional 55 additional permanent injuries. We were joined at the launch by young lifesavers from MacMasters Beach, Bermagui and Ocean Beach. These are heroes of our country.

The report also estimated that the economic value of surf lifesavers in preventing coastal drowning is $3.6 billion. We know that surf lifesavers and lifeguards prevent death and permanent injury. As we head into summer, this report is a timely reminder of the selfless work— (Time expired)