Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This surf lifesaving season has been an exceptionally challenging one for clubs on the Sunshine Coast. Over the 2022-23 summer season, 54 people have drowned on Australian beaches, with 6,000 rescues being performed by lifesavers and lifeguards between 1 December and the end of February. Several of those were in my own electorate of Fisher. As a father, I know full well just how heartbreaking this is for the friends and families of those lost. As a surf lifesaver for many years, I know how hard these 54 incidents will have struck those on patrol and the first responders involved.

To that end, I want to pay tribute to my own club at Alexandra Headland, as well as the surf lifesaving clubs at Mooloolaba, Kawana, Dicky Beach, metropolitan Caloundra and the surf lifesaving club at Ithaca. I want to thank those members for their commitment, their courage and their service. I was on patrol yesterday afternoon and was absolutely astounded at the number of people who continue to swim outside the flags. They only needed to walk 100 metres to walk into the flagged area. Much of our time is spent just getting people to swim between the flags. If you go to the beach, please, swim between the flags, if not for your own good, for the people around you.