Commissioner’s Report

Despite every challenge, Marine Rescue NSW stayed the course to save lives on the water in 2019-20.

If there is anything that 2019-20 has revealed to us, it is the depth of the fortitude, resilience and community spirit of our volunteers and staff. While I never take the skill and commitment of our people for granted, I am proud of the way our organisation has risen to the challenges thrown at us all this year.

The combined threats of the Black Summer bushfires, storms and floods and the COVID-19 pandemic have had a significant impact on our people and our services over most of the year. Despite this, our personnel have not only maintained their dedication to our own mission but also stepped up to support their emergency services colleagues, their communities and each other.

Boating activity on our waterways was significantly reduced this year, particularly over a summer marked more by fire danger than carefree days on the water. The effect of the pandemic was more varied, with some areas reporting fewer boats on the water but others likening the amount of traffic in autumn to the height of a “usual” summer season. The overall decline in boating had a corresponding effect on our operational workload, with our volunteers deploying on 2,541 rescue missions to return almost 6,000 people safely to shore. While this was seven per cent down on our 2018-19 rescue numbers, 30 per cent of our operations were in response to life-endangering emergencies. Disturbingly, there were 25 boating-related deaths on NSW waterways across the year - 14 more than the previous year. Half of our units deployed on extended search operations that ended in tragedy. I thank our crews for their compassionate response in difficult circumstances and extend our condolences to the families of all those lost.

Our radio operators, whose contribution is critical to mission success, handled more than 235,000 radio calls this year, including Logging On more than 67,600 boats. The strong uptake of the MarineRescue App saw a record number of boaters using this technology.

While these statistics tell a story, they do not paint a textured portrait. While this year’s operational report may indicate that our response rates were indeed lower, the context is important. As fire spread south down the coastline from July to February, our members were unstinting in supporting the emergency response, wherever and whenever they were called upon, whether pre-deploying to transport fire crews or evacuees, working in emergency operations centres, operating NSW Rural Fire Service communications or assisting at evacuation centres. Our response to the onset of COVID-19 was swift and comprehensive. We quickly sent staff to work remotely, limited our radio bases to core numbers of personnel and our crews operated on-call from home. I appreciate that this was difficult and in some cases frustrating but I make no apology for putting the health and welfare of our personnel first.

Again, our people did not shirk their commitment to the boating community. Despite all the challenges of operating remotely, we maintained our core services to protect and assist the boating community without fail. I thank each and every one of our people - volunteers and staff - for their professionalism, cooperation and the care they showed for each other in isolation.

Despite the turmoil, we have also continued to set the standard in fleet development, IT and communications quality, training innovation, volunteer support and community engagement. The year began with the celebration

STACEY TANNOS ESM

Commissioner Chief Executive Officer Chair, State Rescue Board

of our tenth anniversary and ended with the announcement of our Marine Rescue NSW Training Academy; our valuable work over our first decade laying the groundwork for our future, supported by our new State Government funding. Emergency Services Minister David Elliott has consistently ensured our people and their life-saving work have received well-deserved recognition and I thank him and his staff for their ongoing assistance and support.

We remain grateful to the members of the boating community for their financial contribution through the levy on recreational boat licences and registrations. Many are also members of our units’ Radio Clubs, contributing to their local operations not only financially but also through their enhanced safety consciousness. We work in close partnership with our emergency service and maritime colleagues, particularly the NSW Police Force Marine Area Command, NSW Maritime, Surf Life Saving, NSW Ambulance, the NSW Rural Fire Service and Resilience NSW. I thank all their personnel for their cooperation and collaboration.

The interests and wellbeing of our volunteers are of the utmost importance in the deliberations of the MRNSW Board. The Directors have been steadfast in their leadership and support throughout this challenging time and I thank them for their constructive approach.

While acknowledging our volunteers, it would be remiss not to express our gratitude to their families and employers, who also are part of our mission. Thank you to all our personnel for their contributions in 2019-20. I hope for calmer waters ahead over the coming year but set forth on our continuing journey to save lives on the water with pride and confidence.

Commissioner Stacey Tannos ESM