By Corey Everitt
An innovative new swimming program for multicultural communities in Cardinia has prompted calls for more Government involvement to accelerate its expansion across the State to ensure the safety of residents in the water.
Harpreet Kandra from Officer Gurdwara Sri Guru Nanak Darbar is currently leading the pilot ‘Safely Engaging with Water Program’ in collaboration with Cardinia Life.
Purposed to teach adults how to swim, the pilot has received an overwhelming response with a significant waitlist assembled as the first round of participants complete the ten-session course.
The program is open to all, but primarily it is in response to the disproportional number of people from multicultural backgrounds among recent drownings.
Reported by the Royal Life Saving Society Australia, of last year’s 323 drownings in Australia, a quarter were from multicultural backgrounds.
Kandra believes the level of migrants who cannot swim independently is much higher than believed, he thinks the number is ‘over 80 per cent’.
“With summer upon us, it’s crucial to raise community awareness about water safety and encourage swimming lessons. People cannot be truly water-safe unless they get in the water and learn to swim,“ he said.
“Based on my knowledge and conversations with many individuals from multicultural backgrounds, I estimate that over 80 per cent either don’t know how to swim. Those who know swimming may need to refresh their skills for different and diverse Australian conditions. I wish there were an ABS survey question on this.“
With the success of the pilot program so far and the urgency of the matter, Kandra is calling for active support from all levels of Government.
Though MPs and councillors have expressed enthusiastic support for the program, he wants to see a significant contribution beyond just one-off grants to accelerate the vital program’s expansion across the State.
So far, the pilot program is jointly funded by Cardinia Life and the fees of participants, it has also raised $14,000 from donations from South East local businesses.
Kandra stated he has received interest in the program from as far as Ballarat.
“Let’s admit, water safety is a complex issue, with unclear responsibilities across different tiers of Government. However, it’s essential for all levels of Government to collaborate with communities and swim centers, complementing each other’s efforts,“ he said.
“The State and Federal Governments could provide support for infrastructure that meets the cultural needs of women from multicultural backgrounds, while local councils could encourage swim centers to adopt collaborative models. This approach could also involve building trainers’ skills to teach adult participants from migrant backgrounds. Elected members can play a key role in facilitating these collaborations within their electorates, helping to expand the initiative nationwide.
“Beyond preventing drowning accidents, consider the potential job creation if more people take up swimming. Additionally, it would contribute to better health outcomes and offer quality family time at the pool.“
On the level of infrastructure, an immediate example would be fulfilling the $114 million upgrade to Cardinia Life, which the council has been advocating for funding from Federal and State Governments for many years.
The State Government provides funding to Life Saving Victoria (LSV) who are currently providing training for a portion of the pilot program.
However, Kandra proposes a 1:1:1 model where the program is sustained through three revenue streams; the participant, the facility and a general contributions pool.
This method, he argues, would give greater access to participants at a reduced cost as well as alleviate the burden upon the facility, allowing them to easily expand their services and staff to accommodate the program.
Liberal MP for South Eastern Metropolitan Region, Ann-Marie Hermans said the opposition is calling on the State Government to support the initiative.
“The Liberals and Nationals would wholeheartedly support any investment in improving swimming proficiency to prevent any further tragic loss of life to drowning,” Hermans said.
“Following a $3.5 million cut to new water safety initiatives in the State Budget, the Allan Labor Government should support Harpreet’s grassroots water safety program.
“Living in a community with many migrants and families doing it tough and reflecting on the record number of lives lost to drowning last summer, the Government must prioritise providing water safety education to multicultural communities in order to save lives.”
Cardinia Shire Council’s general manager Liveable Communities Michael Casey said they ’fully support’ the efforts are assessing options.
“Water safety is a statewide and nationwide issue, requiring a collaborative effort from all levels of government. We are committed to exploring options to support the program further, we also urge the state and federal government to proactively provide sustainable funding to support initiatives like the ’Safely Engaging with Water Program’,“ Casey said.
“Council will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to assess the feasibility and potential steps to support the program’s continuation.
“Council currently provides subsidised access to Cardinia Life, supporting participation in programs like ‘Learn to Swim’ for those who cannot otherwise afford to participate. Council will continue to enhance community accessibility to water safety programs.“
Federal La Trobe MP and Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs Jason Wood said he is ’very supportive’ of the program and congratulated Harpreet on the endeavour.
“It is my hope that the ‘Safely Engaging with Water Program’ will be implemented on a national scale. I urge both State and Federal Labor governments to back this initiative and commit to ongoing funding in this area,“ he said.
“It’s heartbreaking to see that our multicultural communities are overrepresented in drowning statistics.”
A spokesperson for the State Government said they were ’looking forward’ to how the pilot program turns out.
“We support the Safely Engaging with Water Program through our annual funding for Life Saving Victoria and we’re looking forward to seeing how this pilot program develops,“ they said.
“We encourage everyone to be safe around water. That’s why every year we support water safety education and training, with more than 45,000 participants involved in programs last year including LSV’s Multicultural Water Safety Program.
“We have also invested more than $23 million in this year’s Budget and more than $2.3 billion since we came to Government to deliver world-class community sport infrastructure and programs.“
