Push for safer beaches

EMMA SPILLETT

MEMBERS of Kiama Surf Life Saving Club are furiously campaigning the State and Federal governments to place Emergency Location Indicator (ELI) markers along New South Wales beaches.

ELI markers provide beachgoers with a reference number, signifying exactly where they are on the beach, cutting down the time spent locating emergencies.

Kiama Surf Life Saving Club emergency co-ordinator Murray McMillan believes that beachgoers and life-savers would benefit from the installation of emergency

markers.

"There are a large number of inlets at Seven Mile Beach, for example, and when accidents happen it is often hard for lifesavers to accurately pinpoint where trouble is," he said.

The growth of housing and increased number of tourists along the coast has necessitated the introduction of signage to protect patrons who lack knowledge of local beach conditions.

Mr McMillan said the introduction of emergency locators would decrease the time spent finding emergency sites and save hundreds of lives statewide.

"Surf clubs have tried to establish their own emergency systems, but a standardised operation that is uniform and recognisable would save lives across NSW," he said.

The introduction of the ELI system cannot happen without funding and Mr McMillan is appealing to independent organisations and the government to provide the surf club with the money needed to install the signage.

"What we really need is for local organisations and businesses to get behind this notion and to encourage the governments to invest in ELIs for the beach," he said.

"We cannot put a price on our own lives and those of our children and when it comes to water safety; prevention is the best cure."

The ELI system has already been implemented in Victoria in response to several drownings that occurred on Gunnamatta Beach in Melbourne in the late 1990s.

Brett Ellis, general manager of Life Saving Operations in Victoria, believes signage has played a "significant role in risk and safety management" and has been successful in saving lives on Victorian beaches.

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