Mr MATT KEAN (Hornsby) [12.33 p.m.]: I am delighted to acknowledge the presence of the students of Normanhurst West Public School in the gallery. It is one of the greatest public schools in all of New South Wales. They put me through my paces with a Q&A style grilling; I think they may have been watching it last night. I hope that their experience today in Parliament House will see some, if not many, of the students enter public service in the future.
I acknowledge the teachers at Normanhurst West Public School. My friend, Greg McLaren, does a great job as principal and is ably supported by dedicated and passionate educators. Their amazing contribution to this school makes it the wonderful institution that it is and I thank them. I also acknowledge the school captains, Hayden Tumech and Chloe Moltzen. I was delighted to meet them at Parliament House at the young leader's forum earlier this year. They do a tremendous job representing their school and are a great example for the whole school community to follow.
Today I will talk about an issue that affects not just the Hornsby community but residents across New South Wales. I inform the House of the tragic death of one of my Westleigh constituents. He died in the surf on 15 September this year. The man is yet to be named. Unfortunately, his story is not unique and many people will lose their lives at the beach this year. This man's distressing death is a timely reminder for our community that we must remain ever vigilant while visiting our beaches and waterways this upcoming summer. Late last month signified the start of the surf lifesaving patrol season along the New South Wales coastline. I remind parents of young children, visiting tourists and regular beach goers alike to remain aware of their surroundings and changing surf conditions. For years now, the State Government and local councils have run safety awareness campaigns for our beaches asking beach goers to swim between the flags. I reiterate the Government's key message to swim between the flags as it helps save hundreds of lives every summer and also protects the most vulnerable swimmers.
The Hornsby electorate has one beach and one of Sydney's most popular waterways, the Hawkesbury River. This river is a haven for boating enthusiasts and fishermen from across Sydney's north. I remind river visitors that they are not immune from danger and should be properly prepared before accessing the Hawkesbury River. Just last week a father and his two daughters had a lucky escape on the Hawkesbury when their boat capsized. Fortunately both young girls were wearing lifejackets. All three were rescued when a passing boat stopped and dragged them aboard. In this case police said the boat owner had taken all the appropriate precautions but a malfunctioning seat bracket caused the boat to flip. This is a timely reminder for boat owners to follow the NSW Maritime Boating Handbook and have certified lifejackets, a compass and a flare aboard in case of emergency. Our new Minister for Sport and Recreation, Gabrielle Upton, will be well aware of the important and critically vital role surf life saving clubs play in our community. The organisation has just reached an all-time record high number of members with 76,922 lifesavers now serving in a variety of different roles across New South Wales beaches.
My Liberal Party colleagues—the member for Manly, Mike Baird; the member for Cronulla, Mark Speakman; the member for Coogee, Bruce Notley-Smith; and the member for Wakehurst, Brad Hazzard—all have electorates on our coastline that are popular destinations for summer beach visitors. They will all be aware that New South Wale's coastal drowning statistics remain dangerously high with 48 deaths in the last summer season. To combat this Surf Life Saving New South Wales is urging beach goers to swim at patrolled locations and take advantage of the highly skilled lifeguards and volunteers who patrol our beaches. This year our lifesavers will once again spend in excess of 670,000 hours of voluntary service patrolling our beaches. They are remarkable people doing a remarkable job protecting the community from harm's way. It is an enormous contribution we should all be thankful for as these brave men and women continue to help create a safer swimming environment.
The surf lifesaving initiative has been alive and well on our beaches for well over 100 years. The selfless commitment and bravery of our lifesavers allows our Government to promote a safe beach culture which is considered one of the best in the world. This summer's volunteer patrol season will continue daily on all patrolled beaches until 27 April 2014. It promises to be a warm summer with many beach visitors and I wish each and every surf lifesaver the best of luck for the many challenges ahead. I remind the students of Normanhurst West Public School that this summer will be a particularly hot and dry summer that will have a tremendous impact on the risk of bushfire. The Hornsby Shire is known as the bushland shire and has the ever present threat of bushfire on our doorstep. I encourage all residents of the Hornsby shire to do what they can to mitigate against this very high bushfire risk and take all precautions necessary.
Read full transcript in Hansard here.
