How many deaths on our back beaches will it take for Parks Victoria to take action? 

In 2023-2024, Victoria had its highest summer drowning total on record, with 26 lives lost. The back beaches of the Mornington Peninsula are particularly deadly and largely unpatrolled.

To put a face to these continuous tragedies, 20-year-old Jona Kinivuwai was in the shallows of No.16 beach in Rye when he was dragged out to sea. His body has never been found. 

The last death at this beach was less than three years earlier. There are many more tragic stories from the other unpatrolled beaches on the Mornington Peninsula, with locals being relied on to put their own lives at risk. Yet there has been no improvement in the inadequate warning signs or any installation of rescue equipment.

Parks Victoria manages our back beaches. As local ocean goers, concerned citizens and visitors, we call on Minister Steve Dimopoulos, whose portfolio includes Park Victoria, to take urgent action.

All back-beaches that have car parks require:

• Better signage to warn of dangerous conditions. For example, in some areas of New South Wales, rock fishers must pass a sign with a death tally and text translated into three other languages.
  
  
• Remote Rescue Tubes, or some other form of rescuer floatation devices. In Kauai, Hawaii, rescuer drownings dropped from 60% to 13% after the introduction of tubes. In Coffs Harbour, NSW, there have been 13 known successful rescues involving tubes (and no unsuccessful rescues), over the course of a 33-month trial.

More delays mean more deaths. As locals, visitors and concerned citizens, let’s push for change and stop these senseless tragedies!

Picture below: Example of rock fishing sign that could be adapted for general beach safety signs