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Despite the NSW Government committing $6 million to a Learn to Swim Program targeting communities at the highest risk of drowning, the Hawkesbury has been excluded from funded learn to swim lessons.
The program is explicitly aimed at people living in disadvantaged areas, multicultural communities, First Nations communities, and those in regional and remote NSW. Yet funding across Greater Sydney has been directed to LGAs such as Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown, Bankstown and Campbelltown while Hawkesbury has received no provider coverage.
This omission is difficult to reconcile with local risk. The Hawkesbury River system, including rivers, creeks, dams and water storages on rural properties, creates widespread and everyday exposure to open water. Unlike urban areas where access is controlled by pools and beaches, water in the Hawkesbury is often unfenced, unsupervised and immediately accessible to children and visitors.
Drownings are regularly recorded in the Hawkesbury River, and flood events further increase exposure and risk across both rural and semi-urban communities. The area also includes remote villages, limited public transport access to aquatic centres, and a mix of socioeconomic disadvantage that aligns closely with the program’s stated target groups.
Given these factors, it raises a legitimate question as to why Hawkesbury one of the most water-exposed local government areas in Greater Sydney, has not been targeted for free learn to swim and water safety funding under this program.
Robyn Preston MP says ‘It defies logic that the Minns Labor Government would exclude Hawkesbury from the list of eligible LGAs that will benefit from the Learn to Swim Program. We are an area surrounded by water and it is crucial that everyone can swim to save themselves.
The fact that neighbouring electorates including Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown, Bankstown and Campbelltown have been included, is not surprising because all of them are Labor seats – talk about pork barrelling!”
