Surf life saving boats or funerals? One way or the other we'll pay – grandma

Sunday, 2 September 2018

Oreti Surf Lifesaving Club chairman Owen West on a borrowed inflatable rescue boat.

The charity Surf Life Saving NZ says it needs the Government to step up with funding to help it protect Kiwis on the beaches this summer.

Patrols are due to start around the country next month. Already, the volunteers have warned they may have to cut back the hours and weeks they keep watch over the waves.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand chief executive Paul Dalton says the time has come for the Government to put its hand in its pocket.

Now, chief executive Paul Dalton says the organisation is pushing for government funding. 'I think the conversation is bigger than just looking at equipment. It has been started and is under way,' he said. 'We're only at the beginning of our conversation.'

There are 74 surf clubs, fighting tooth and nail for donations and corporate sponsorship to replace worn out boats, and to pay for the other equipment they need to patrol the beaches.

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In the 2017/2018 summer, Surf Life Saving's 5,247 volunteer lifeguards nationwide conducted 333 searches, 1,058 rescues, and 2,358 assists.

Fuel company BP runs an annual competition to give away one inflatable rescue boat to a surf club, worth $25,000. This year, four surf clubs are fighting for the public vote for the boat.

Waimarama Surf Life Saving Club in Hawke's Bay - the club is under pressure - it's boat is eight-years-old and close to being worn out.

Oreti Surf Life Saving Club, near Invercargill, has no inflatable rescue boats to protect its patch of coastline – it has had to borrow one, after both its boats were destroyed in a storm last season.

It is one of the four finalists forced to rely on a reality TV-style public vote to win a boat in the BP competition – potentially, a life and death vote.

Chairman Owen West said the club received funding from the Southern Trust and Community Trust of Southland when its two boats were damaged, but government funding, especially in that situation, 'would have been an amazing help'.

'Surf Lifesaving NZ do amazing things right across New Zealand. It would make it a whole lot easier with better source of funding.'

John Wesley-Smith, chair of Titahi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club in Porirua, has a wish list of basic rescue equipment: an inflatable boat, an outboard motor, boards, and fins.

'Our club is like every other club in the country, short of funding and equipment,' he said. 'Every year we we apply for grants funding, which is over-subscribed and slowly disappearing.

'We're effectively running an emergency service with gear that is predominantly older than it should be. I don't think we are any different ton fire, police of ambulance services as life saving services. I totally agree with what Paul Dalton is getting at. It's time we got funding from central government.'

And at Warrington Surf Lifesaving Club in Otago, they need a new Can-Am (similar to a quad- bike), lifeguard tower, and money for insurance premiums that have risen since the Canterbury earthquake.

The limited funding the club receives had to be split between patrolling operations, and development and education for younger members, said chairman Mark Familton.

Familton suspected an increasing cost incurred by the club was the provision of first aid to increasing numbers of freedom campers, who the the district council was sending to Warrington Beach.

'We provide a public service. It would be nice to have some certainty around funding each year.'

A Water Safety NZ report discussed the 88 fatal drownings in 2017, and highlighted the need for conversations at the Beehive.

Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Peeni Henare was one of the ministers that met with SLNZ following the damning report.

He said those conversations had driven progress in the area, and he was open to Government funding the services. 'It's the tools of their craft. I get it, there has been issues with their funding.'

PAY FOR A NEW BOAT, NOT TWO FUNERALS

Marty Raumati and Theo Crawford were saved by surf lifesavers last summer at the beach.

Lynnette Rowan nearly lost her grandsons.

'I can't imagine losing two grandsons at the same time,' she said. 'One would be bad enough but two would just be … absolutely devastating.'

Theo Crawford and Marty Raumati were rescued by lifeguards at Kariotahi Surf Lifesaving Club last summer.

The pair were swimming in the ocean, their feet still on the ground, when a big wave swept the 15-year-old and 19-year-old out of their depth – and into real trouble.

A struggling Theo was dragging Marty under as they battled to stay afloat until help arrived.

Rowan was 'terrified' at the close call.

'I was really grateful to the lifeguards as a grandparent – it really makes me think what those guys out there are volunteering to do, like St John, is saving lives.'

She believed the government should support surf lifesaving with funding and said buying a new boat would be cheaper than paying for funerals.