Is water safety still a priority?

For the six month period of January to June 2008 there were 55 drowning deaths in NZ according to statistics released by Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ).

At the same time last year there had been 56 fatal drownings. The five year average (2003-2007) for the six month period year to date is 61 drowning deaths.

The regions with the highest drowning toll on a per capita basis (100,000 of population) are:

1.   West Coast.

2.   Wanganui-Manawatu.

3.   Hawkes Bay.

Additionally, Northland and Waikato continue to appear consistently as ‘high-risk’ regions over any period of time.

WSNZ general manager Matt Claridge comments: “The relevance and need for attention to be paid to regional NZ in terms of water safety education has never been more apparent, given the on-going disproportionate representation in drowning incidents.

“NZers drown in a diverse range of locations, acknowledgement of regional and/or demographic needs are important if ultimately there are to be greater gains made in reducing the drowning toll.

“WSNZ have recognised this issue and established Regional Water Safety Strategy. The benefits of the Regional Strategy is becoming increasingly obvious as data analysis is refined along with identification of local issues. Essentially, working with the community to provide water safety solutions is a focus of WSNZ’s Regional Water Safety Strategy.”