The South Coast and Bega Liberal candidates have welcomed the commitment by the NSW Liberal and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s Government to inject $23 million into Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW), the biggest investment in the organisation in its 116-year history.
Candidate for South Coast Luke Sikora and Bega Russell Fitzpatrick said the funding will significantly enhance SLSNSW’s capability with new rescue vehicles, jet skis and more.
“This is an incredibly important funding commitment from the Perrottet Liberal Team. It supports volunteer lifesavers who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our beaches and keep them safe,” Mr Sikora said.
Mr Fitzpatrick said, “The Perrottet Government’s plan for the future includes supporting frontline services. That is only possible from their strong economic record which allows significant funding like this to be injected into Surf Life Saving NSW to assist the volunteer lifesavers.”
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke said the funding commitment for SLSNSW comes at a critical time.
“This summer is not over yet but we’ve already experienced record numbers of rescues and sadly drownings. This extra funding will go a long way towards ensuring our volunteers are better supported to keep our communities safer and stronger,” Ms Cooke said.
SLSNSW President George Shales said an investment in lifesavers is an investment in community safety.
“I welcome today’s announcement, which is a significant increase on previous NSW Government support for our thousands of volunteers and staff. Every single dollar will make a difference to the equipment and resources our volunteers rely on, helping us to save more lives,” Mr Shales said.
The NSW Liberal and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s Government’s $23 million funding commitment consists of:
- 22 new rescue vehicles and 68 new jet skis, which can also be deployed during other natural disasters like floods;
- 40 additional Emergency Response Beacons, enabling lifesavers to remotely monitor unpatrolled sections of the NSW coastline;
- Additional emergency management staff permanently based in Regional NSW;
- Radio communications upgrades on the Far South Coast, South Coast, North Coast and Mid North Coast; and
- An additional $5 million for the Surf Club Facility Program (taking it to $15 million in total), which is administered by the Office of Sport to develop facilities that increase participation in surf life saving for all people, increase usage and improve safety.
