Hobsons Bay will join other bayside councils in fighting attempts to make them pay for lifeguard patrols on their beaches this summer.
On September 30, the council voted in support of joining the Association of Bayside Municipalities (ABM) and Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) in resisting attempts by Life Saving Victoria (LSV) to charge them for providing paid lifeguards and to advocate for more state government funding instead.
LSV recently requested Hobsons Bay council pay $88,101.07 for lifeguard patrols on Williamstown and Altona beaches this coming summer.
According to council, the cost of having paid lifeguards patrol the beaches alongside surf club volunteers, had previously been covered by LSV through grants from the state government and that it had never been charged before.
Hobsons Bay mayor Daria Kellander told the meeting that rather than forcing LSV to charge council’s, the state government could use funds raised by the controversial Emergency Services Volunteers Fund (ESVF) levy.
“They are collecting an additional $9 million in the ESVF from our municipality alone, so from that you would’ve hoped they’d find an extra $90,000 for an emergency services partner to prevent tragedies like this happening on our beaches,” she said.
A spokesperson for the state government wouldn’t be drawn on using funds from the ESVF levy to pay for lifeguards.
“The government is working closely with LSV on this and will continue to provide the lion’s share of lifeguard service funding with councils and LSV’s own revenue making up the rest,” the spokesperson said.
A LSV spokesperson said there was no long-term funding model in place for the paid lifeguard service and the organisation and the aquatic industry in general, was facing rising costs and workforce shortages.
“Life Saving Victoria is working closely with government and key stakeholders to find a sustainable solution that supports the continued delivery of these vital services and ensures community safety,” the spokesperson said.
“Our goal remains to support safe water access across all settings.”
In the latest LSV drowning report, Hobsons Bay was ranked the equal seventh highest local government area in terms of drowning fatality risk, with seven drowning fatalities in the past five years .
