Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Water safety

Sam GROTH (Nepean) (13:20): The Mornington Peninsula is in the grips of a tragic crisis. As recently as just over a week ago we saw the drowning death of a man in Rye, and this adds to the growing list of incidents of this kind over the peninsula in recent months. Promising rugby player Jona Kinivuwai was swept away in a deadly rip at Rye in February, there was another drowning off Rye Pier on 5 January and late last year a kayaker tragically passed away near Rosebud Pier. Last summer we saw the highest drowning death toll in over two decades, and despite over 800 lives being saved through the rescue efforts of our Victorian lifesavers – and I thank them very much – we still lost 27 ‍lives last summer alone.

There can be no doubt that a lack of signage and awareness has contributed to these devastating events. They impact families locally and right across our state. We need to be committed to doing something about this issue. Across the country we see the use of life-saving flotation rings near waters, and they have helped mitigate some of the risks. In Victoria we have to do everything we can to avoid tragedies like these in the future and encourage safe and responsible use of our beaches and our waterways. I hope the minister will join me this Friday when I meet with local stakeholders and heroes who have been on the front line of saving lives and building solutions to these challenges. It is time to rise above politics, which I know in this place is rare, and work together to save lives.