WE may be portrayed as a nation of bronzed Aussies who love nothing more than a dip at the beach, but we are turning into a nation of people who can’t swim.
The Royal Life Saving Society’s National Drowning Report 2011 revealed 315 drowning deaths in Australian waters in the 12 months to June, the most since 2003.
It did not include the asylum seekers off Christmas Island, but did include 38 killed during Queensland’s summer floods.
In NSW there were 107 deaths.
Males are far more likely to drown than females – 241 males drowned in 2010-11, including 62 in the 18-34 age group.
The Royal Life Saving Society said young men “often engage in risk-taking behaviour that may be heightened by alcohol consumption or use of illicit drugs”.
Alcohol was a factor in more than 10 per cent of drownings and drugs were a factor in 5 per cent.
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Royal Life Saving chief executive Rob Bradley said not enough primary school children were being educated on water safety.
Mr Bradley said it should be a requirement for primary school children to be given “basic skills and knowledge so that they keep themselves safe, or they can get themselves out of trouble”.
“What we need to do is to take a co-ordinated approach – get all states and territories on board.”
Education Minister Peter Garrett welcomed the call and said he would take the message back to his state ministerial counterparts when they meet next month.
The most deaths – 114 – were in rivers, creeks or streams, 47 in an ocean or harbour, 37 in a swimming pool, 35 at a beach, 27 in a lake, dam or lagoon; and 17 in a bath or spa.
There was a 15 per cent reduction in the deaths of children under the age of five.
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