Beaches along the Hunter’s coast will be a whole lot safer for beachgoers this summer with an upgrade to the surf life saving radio network.
The NSW government has provided funding of $800,000 to update the radio technology servicing the Hunter and Lower North Coast regions of NSW.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliot, said the project to migrate the radio technology from 50-year-old technology to digital is the first in a partnership with Resilience NSW and Telco Authority.
“This particular network covers some of the busiest beaches in the state, stretching over 270km from Camden Haven to Catherine Hill Bay,” said Mr Elliot.
“Having state-of-the-art communications is critical for the efficiency and safety of our lifesavers and every beach-goer. In the last year alone, lifesavers responded to 81 major emergency incidents and callouts.”
CEO of Surf Life Saving NSW Steve Pearce, believes it will be a great safety net for lifesavers.
“It will be inundated on the beaches so it is critical that surf life savers have the most state of the art up to date network,” said Mr Pearce.
The network will stretch over 270 kms coastline from Camden Haven to Catherine Hill Bay, which includes 19 Surf Life Saving Clubs.
CEO of Surf Life Saving NSW Steve Pearce, believes it will be a great safety net for lifesavers.
“It will be inundated on the beaches so its so critical that surf life savers have the most state of the art up to date network,” said Mr Pearce.
Mr Pearce said that this upgrade will mean less downtime and disruption to communications between our patrolling lifesavers on the beach and our State Operations Centre.
“When it comes to saving lives every second counts and clear, reliable communications between our volunteers and other emergency services is vital.”
