Long-range drones fly further for longer to save lives

Specialised long-range drones designed to improve responses to emergency situations, natural disasters and enhance safety both off the coast and along our beaches, will be trialled by Surf Life Saving NSW on the far north coast next month.

The Long-Range Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) project, funded by the NSW Government Department of Primary Industries, will explore how the existing surveillance program could be extended to cover more of the NSW coastline.

The project will also trial how this new generation of drone could be used in other situations to enhance public safety away from the coast, such as during flood and bushfire emergencies as well as search and rescue operations.

The trial will simulate real-life scenarios, with the aim of safely operating different types of drones that are capable of flying further and for longer, by operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).

Surf Life Saving NSW currently provides the largest coastal UAV surveillance program in the Southern Hemisphere.

Surf Life Saving’s drone capability was used extensively during last year’s floods, helping to give the NSW SES a more complete picture of the disaster unfolding across the state and where support to communities could be best directed.

NSW Minister for Emergency Services, Jihad Dib, said:

“This is a really exciting project and could prove to be a game-changer in the way our emergency services respond to a whole range of public safety services, from shark management to fire and floods to search and rescue operations. The possibilities are endless.”

“We know the people of Surf Life Saving NSW have the skills and experience to keep us safe in the water, but these long-range drones will help explore new ways of keeping our beaches safe in a cost-effective way, by using technology to its full advantage.”

Surf Life Saving NSW CEO, Steve Pearce said:

“We see the potential for a long-range capability to enhance not only our shark surveillance work, but also give our emergency services the ability to reduce their response time to incidents and provide greater situational awareness in so many other situations.”

“Expanding our drone capability gives us greater ‘eyes in the sky’ and has the potential to help us save more lives.

“We’re really excited to see how the trial goes, how the various types of drones perform and what the future might hold for our use of this sort of technology.”

$6,462 in fines and costs for illegal dumping

A man has been fined $4,000 and ordered to pay further costs of $2,462 after been found guilty of illegally dumping building waste in the Byron Shire in 2021.

The incident happened on Tyagarah Road at Tyagarah on 29 March 2021.

Ralph James, Byron Shire Council’s Legal Counsel, said a member of the public spotted the tip truck dumping a large load of timber and other building materials near the exit to the motorway and reported it.

“Staff investigated the next day and with the information that was provided to us by the local resident, we were able to mount a very strong prosecution which included the name of the Queensland-based business, the registration number of the truck and its GPS tracked movements on the day of the offence,” Mr James said.

The person was convicted in the Byron Bay Local Court this week and ordered to pay fines and costs of $6,462.

“To dispose of this waste at the Byron Resource Recovery Centre would have cost $100, a lot cheaper than the fine and court costs,” Mr James said.

Mr James also said that in imposing the fines and costs, the court was sending a strong message to the community that actions of this kind will not be dealt with lightly.

“I would like to thank the resident who reported this incident because it sends a message to people that our community will not tolerate this sort of behaviour,”

Zoe White, Resource Recovery Education and Compliance Officer, said.

Illegal dumping is not acceptable, and Council investigates every report and launches legal proceedings wherever and whenever possible.

People can report illegal dumping via https://ridonline.epa.nsw. gov.au