Hot Water Beach drowning reignites discussion around lifeguarding pressures

Tuesday, 16 October 2018

Funding carparks and toilets at increasingly popular tourist beaches doesn't save lives, says a lifeguard at one of the country's most popular beaches.

The drowning of Angelo Tuyay at Hot Water Beach on Sunday, a week before lifeguard patrols at the beach begin, has reignited discussion around pressures of surf lifeguards and where council money could be better spent.

Last month, the government allocated more than $2 million for infrastructure in the Thames-Coromandel district, which the council has said $1,426,841 would go towards 250 new car parks in Hahei. The rest would go towards providing or upgrading public toilets at various beaches. 

But Hot Water Beach Lifeguard Service chairman Gary Hinds said the money would be better spent funding lifeguards full time at the beach.

Hinds said they already patrolled the beach longer than any other in the country, with lifeguards on the beach for eight months of the year.

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But ideally they would have begun patrolling at the start of September and he called for more support from the Thames-Coromandel District Council and local community boards for that for happen.

Hinds said Hot Water Beach was different to other beaches because many beach-goers were based near Hot Rock for the springs.

However, the flags signalling where lifeguards have deemed it safest to swim were often 100-metres away.

Despite that, many beach-goers still opted to swim by Hot Rock - frequented by a notorious rip - despite lifeguards instructions. 

'The mantra is 'swim between the flags' but we can't operate under that because of what we're dealing with.'

Hinds said the appeal of the springs meant lifeguards had to work their rosters as split-shifts around the low tides from now until Christmas. Unless low tide was during the day, that would mean three hours in the morning from about 7am and then again from 4pm to 8pm. 

Outside of those hours, which was when most other beaches would be patrolled, Hot Water Beach would not be patrolled. 

Thames- Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie said every time there was a budget review, questions were always raised and considered around funding for surf life saving and further safety on beaches. 

'Our rate payer dollars can only go so far and at some point you've got to ask yourself 'how we can afford to keep looking after people that come into the area?'.'

She said the council took advantages of opportunities to apply for infrastructure opportunities from central government, but that increasing infrastructure did not go hand-in-hand with increasing safety because that was not what the council was applying for. 

'It's central government that needs to recognise that.'

In February, the Waikato Regional Council proposed an extra $25,000 in their long term plan to cover an extended season of patrolling at Hot Water Beach.