Let's wise to water safety

New Zealand's water safety record is disturbing, the experts tell MATHEW DEARNALEY, and it is high time we made waves on getting the Government to spend more money on drowning prevention.

New Zealand is a waterbound country. We are surrounded not only by sea - we are riddled with creeks, rivers, harbours and lakes as well.

Yet the amount of public money put towards water safety is a pittance compared with what is spent combating the road toll.

Saturation advertising by the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) has helped to cut annual road deaths from more than 700 a decade ago to 465 last year.

Our latest drowning headcount is a less dramatic 135 deaths, but injury researchers say this is nothing to be proud of, and that death by asphyxiation in the water can be as gruesome as death from trauma injuries in a car wreck.

The first national study of drowning-related deaths, by Otago University's injury prevention research unit, shows the rate of unintentional drownings from 1992 to 1994 was 1.8 times higher than that of Australia. Drownings are well down from their high point of 214 in 1985, says Water Safety New Zealand, but they crept up last year from a low of 121 in 1999.

Although most drownings occur, unsurprisingly, in summer, the death last week of a 4-year-old boy who fell into a West Auckland creek which had already claimed two other young lives amplifies the need for year-round vigilance.

And four preschoolers have died in private swimming or spa pools so far this year, compared with just one for all of 2000.

Many New Zealanders like to think they know how to handle themselves on the water. But the injury unit discovered boating fatality rates which were 4.3 times higher than Australia's, while drownings in motor accidents were an appalling 10.2 times greater.

Although some water safety campaigns have been highly effective, budgets have been tiny, and injury unit director Professor John Langley wants the Government to provide far more financial fire power.

Why is our water safety record so much more abysmal than Australia's? Surely it's because more of us live closer to the sea?

Professor Langley says most Australians live close to the sea as well, and he believes warmer temperatures would tend to encourage them to stay in the water longer.

He admits being surprised by how poorly New Zealand's safety record ranks with Australia's, although he acknowledges there are more inland waterways here and that sea conditions are probably more unpredictable.

Particularly disturbing is a drowning rate among preschoolers, which his study found was almost 50 per cent higher than in Australia, where he says a higher priority has been accorded to fencing off swimming pools.

Although he says this country's Fencing of Swimming Pools Act provides a means to prevent children from drowning, local authorities surveyed by his unit in 1999 - 12 years after the legislation was passed - reported that only 44 per cent of pools complied with it.

What are the main causes of drowning?

Drownings described by Water Safety New Zealand as "non-recreational," in which the victims did not mean to end up in the water, accounted for 56 per cent of last year's 135 deaths.

The organisation's database shows 10 of these followed motor smashes, which Professor Langley says does not receive the attention it deserves from the LTSA as a leading cause of drowning.

Alcohol was known to have been involved in 14 per cent of drownings, although the true figure is probably much higher as only about one-third of drowning victims are tested for it. Boating accidents were responsible for the largest number of drownings among people involved in recreational activities, causing 24 deaths compared with 13 the year before.

Only 11 people died while swimming, the second lowest number since Water Safety New Zealand began compiling statistics in 1980.

The organisation claims great success for an advertising campaign it ran with Surf Life Saving New Zealand between December and February to urge people to swim between patrol flags.

Water Safety's executive director, Alan Muir, says nobody drowned on surf beaches in the entire three months of the campaign, compared with nine during the same period last year.

Who drowns?

The vast majority of drowning victims last year, 87 per cent, were male and the most accident-prone age was from 25 to 29.

Statistics drawn by the Otago University researchers from a 15-year period from 1980 showed drowning rates for Maori preschoolers were markedly lower than for non-Maori youngsters. But the rates for Maori adults aged 45 or older overtook those of their non-Maori counterparts.

The researchers believe this may be because fewer Maori youngsters gain access to domestic swimming pools, while adult Maori may be more likely to go fishing and shellfish gathering for economic reasons.

Mr Muir is disappointed that four preschoolers have drowned in swimming pools this year, saying there would have been a national outcry had that number been killed by child abusers.

Who is responsible for promoting water safety, and where do they get their money?

The largest organisation is the Maritime Safety Authority, but its main brief is to regulate commercial shipping.

Most recreational safety programmes are commissioned by Water Safety New Zealand, an incorporated society which draws about $1.5 million - or three-quarters of its $2 million annual budget - from the discretionary coffers of the Lottery Grants Board.

The rest of the money comes mainly from commercial sponsors.

Water Safety makes financial allocations for educational programmes to constituent members such as Surf Life Saving New Zealand and the Coastguard Federation.

These two organisations also receive about $3.5 million between them, from separate lottery grants, for their water rescue activities.

The Maritime Safety Authority receives about $4.2 million a year from the Government, of which $3 million goes towards a $14 million budget to regulate commercial shipping. The other $11 million is gathered from charges to industry.

About 55 per cent is spent on safety services such as radio, navigational aids and search and rescue, while the rest goes towards activities such as accident investigations.

Government money for recreational boating includes about $900,000 for that sector's share of radio and navigational costs, which are provided free to them, leaving $300,000 for safety promotions.

Mr Muir says the amount of public money spent on Water Safety New Zealand, of which none comes directly from the Government, works out at about 40c a year for each New Zealander.

It falls well short of the cost of a single human life, which he says the Land Transport Safety Authority estimates at $2.26 million.

How much is spent promoting road safety?

The Land Transport Safety Authority had a budget last year of $152 million, but this was larger than usual, to allow for the extra costs of introducing the photo driver's licence regime.

This year's budget is a more modest $125 million, but it still eclipses the pin money spent on water safety.

About $8 million will be spent on general road-safety advertising this year, and $1 million on publicity campaigns aimed at Maori and Pacific people. A further $500,000 will help community road safety coordinators to develop their own advertising in support of local projects.

Why is there such a glaring disparity?

Mr Muir thinks it is partly because of the higher visibility of road smashes, reinforced by graphic and gory television advertising. He also acknowledges that vehicle crashes leave society with a heavier and persistent financial burden, with high medical costs for injured survivors.

Many people presume the bodies of drowning victims are usually recovered relatively intact, and Mr Muir believes they would be shocked if they could see the state of corpses washed ashore after several days in the water.

So why don't water safety campaigners use similarly shocking advertising?

Mr Muir says his organisation prefers a more educational and instructive approach. "We think a message needs to be more practical so that people learn from it."

What should the Government do?

Professor Langley says the Government must make a serious investment in water safety to end needless deaths, such as by paying for a campaign to encourage all boaties to carry lifejackets.

Campaigns against drink-driving, and more recently, speed, have shown that social behaviours can be changed, but this takes "a long-term, sustained attack."

Mr Muir says the Government puts considerable money and effort into encouraging New Zealanders to participate in recreational activities, yet will not spend a modest amount to ensure their safety while they are doing so.

A consultants' report to the Government last year recommended that it commission a strategic plan for all water safety and rescue services, while giving them one-off grants in the meantime.

But Sport, Fitness and Leisure Minister Trevor Mallard and his colleague Mark Burton, then Internal Affairs Minister, said the Government had other spending priorities.