On the 7th of October, an 11-year-old boy drowned on the coast of Murramarang Beach after being caught in a rip in the early hours of the afternoon. 

He managed to stay afloat on the water for half an hour, till he could no longer keep doing so, and sunk to the depths of the Ocean, before being pulled out almost two hours later from the first emergency call.

He was immediately taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he died a short while later.

The question is, why did it take so long to save him?

Why did emergency services take over half an hour to arrive?

In Australia, a country known to be home to the most beaches totaling a whopping 10,000, how come there was not a single lifeguard on that beach? If only a lifeguard had been on that beach that day, the boy might have survived, his life and dreams preserved, and a family not void of a precious family member. 

Of all the 10,000 beaches Australia has, only around 250 of them have lifeguards. This is not enough, especially when many of these beaches are open to the general public and garner many visitors all day. Every year so many people die on beaches unpatrolled by lifeguards, and this needs to be stopped. Precious lives need to stop being lost as a result of negligence toward public spaces where danger is imminent. 

Another issue is that even if a lifeguard were not present, why was there not a sign on the beach at least, warning visitors that the water conditions were too dangerous for a swim that day? Almost every reserve in Australia has 'bushfire' signs warning people about the likelihood of bushfires, so why can't every public beach have such signs, places which attract more visitors than remote reserves and have larger risks of danger?

Australia needs to implement more lifeguards or signs on public beaches which many people visit every year. These places cannot go unpatrolled, just as the more popular beaches of Bondi and Manly can gather up to 75 lifeguards at peak season, why can't these beaches have even one lifeguard? If Australia's government cannot place lifeguards and signs on public beaches, then these beaches should not be open to the public as more lives will be lost continuously.  

If we can get this petition to enough votes, we have the power to demand a safer country as Australians, where fewer lives will be lost and where everyone can go to a beach without feeling worried in case something horrible may happen to themself or a family member. 

The lives of every Australian and resident of Australia are important, and we cannot afford to lose any more lives who behold the future of our country.

Please sign now, so we can have a safer future for Australia.