Background
Royal Life Saving research has identified Northern Queensland as a key area of concern with the region over-represented in drowning statistics.
Sadly, the Townsville and Surrounds region is home to 5 percent of the total drowning deaths in Queensland with 33 fatal drowning deaths in the area over the last 10 years. Each drowning represents the loss of a father, mother, sister, brother, child or grandparent and has a significant detrimental impact on families, friends, community groups, the health and emergency services, the economy and the social fabric of a community. While every drowning is a tragedy, they are all almost always preventable.
No single organisation, government or advocate can prevent all drowning alone. Collective action, alignment with other sectors and inspiring others to make a difference are all keys to success.
This strategy reflects the work of several individuals and organisations and carefully balances a focus on the prevention of drowning with reinforcing the benefits of recreating in and around the water.
Government and community support for this strategy is vitally important. That is why it was so important to ensure representation on the Local Water Safety Group from all three layers of government and a range of community organisations.
We believe this initiative provides the Townsville and Surrounds region with a guiding strategy for reducing drowning, coordinating collective action and reinforcing the importance of safe enjoyment of the water. This will be achieved through improvements to individual and community resilience and investments in infrastructure, programs, research and capacity-building of the water safety community in the region.
About the Strategy
The development of this strategy has been informed by the following monitoring activities:
- Royal Life Saving drowning data and research
- National Coronial System data
- The perspectives of local stakeholders, agencies, and stakeholders through the Local Water Safety Planning Committee workshops (x2)
- A community survey co-developed and reviewed by Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, James Cook University and the University of New South Wales
- Safety reviews (Venue Safety Assessments) at individual swimming and recreation locations by Royal Life Saving assessors
- A desk top review of key policies, programs, campaigns, and locations that contribute to or deter from improved water safety and drowning prevention outcomes within the community (Royal Life Saving Community Water Safety Assessment).
Incorporating a holistic approach to planning, review, monitoring activities, local intelligence, stakeholder communication and consultation and ongoing monitoring and review, the model emphasises a multi-stakeholder collaborative approach and is intended to follow a cyclical process.
Townsville and Surrounds Local Water Safety Group identified 17 key focus areas with several key activities that will invite collective action and alignment with all sectors and community groups.
The Townsville and Surround Local Water Safety Strategy carefully balances a focus on the prevention of drowning with reinforcing the benefits of recreating in and around the water.
