Fewer drownings the priority at Water Safety Conference

Leading Australian and international water safety experts are gathering in Sydney today for the 2010 Australian Water Safety Conference to seek answers as to why there has been a 20% increase in drownings over 2008-2009, with the overall figure exceeding 300 for the first time in seven years.
The Conference comes at a difficult time for water safety groups after five people were confirmed rock to have lost their lives after being swept off the rocks at points in Western Australia and New South Wales since Saturday, with one person still missing.
Rock fishing was already highlighted by the Australian Water Safety Council as one of the high risk aquatic activities to address throughout the Conference and is certain to take significant importance in light of the recent drownings.
The latest spike in rock fishing related drownings serves as a timely reminder to all Australians the importance of making water safety a priority â especially during the cooler months when lifesaving services are scaled back.
Australian Water Safety Council Convenor Rob Bradley said the numbers were concerning considering the strong commitment from water safety organisations in taking a collaborative approach to reduce drowning deaths.
âIn 2008 we released the Australian Water Safety Council (AWSC) strategic plan which targeted a reduction in drowning deaths in Australia by 50% by 2020.
âThe AWSC identified three key drivers underpinning the strategy to reduce drowning deaths including taking a life stage perspective, targeting high risk locations and targeting high risk populations such as indigenous or culturally and linguistically diverse communities and tourists.
âWhile significant steps have been taken in all these areas by member groups of the AWSC, drowning deaths are again on the rise and we need to further look at ways that we can reduce this toll with the limited resources available to all groups,�? Bradley explained.
The Australian Water Safety Council emphasizes that water safety is everyoneâs responsibility and by providing a forum for Australian and International water safety experts to share information at the conference, the Council will review and incorporate the details presented into the Australian Water Safety Strategy 2008-2011.
Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) Chief Executive, Brett Williamson, said that while water safety groups are continuing to break ground in developing and implementing targeted public education resources and intervention program, people are still choosing to put their lives at risk.
Williamson explained ârock fishing fatalities represent approximately 10% of coastal drowning deaths each year, with people from multicultural backgrounds over-represented in those statistics, particularly those from Asian background.
âTragically this year weâve seen 15 people lose their lives through rock fishing related activities â that is three more than last season.
âLast year ASWC members, such as SLSA and Australian National Sportfishing Association have developed multilingual rock fishing resources such as a safety DVD, promotional materials and a dedicated website, all designed to break down the language barrier to educate these high risk populations.
âThese resources have been rolled out through multicultural community group workshops, multicultural media outlets as well as targeted advertising in high risk areas.
âOver the next two days rock fishing will form an important agenda item at the Australian Water Safety Conference and weâll be looking at how we can further grow existing campaigns and what further can be done.�?
In the last week media reports have also highlighted that those that have lost their lives around the coastline have not all been confident swimmers, with AUSTSWIM Chief Executive Gordon Mallet believes reinforces the need for everyone to learn to swim.
âWe want all Australians to learn to swim. People s

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