Rescue group quite buoyant
Funding issues don’t affect Southport crew
GOLD Coast officials have hosed down fears the popular Volunteer Marine Rescue unit is about to disappear from city waters.
Volunteer Marine Rescue Association Queensland issued a dire warning to boaties late last week that the service was unable to replace or repair its ageing fleet.
“Unless significant funding is found soon, services provided will either finish or at the very least be severely restricted to just a small number of operational locations,” Queensland general manager Keith Williams said.
“As of 2020, the average age of a VMR vessel is 9.8 years against a useful lifespan of 15 years.
“The vessels are ageing rapidly and safety standards are becoming more challenging and expensive to maintain. (Without reform) VMRAQ does not expect to be able to continue past another three to five years.
“We can no longer continue such a large impost on volunteers to raise funds.
“We can no longer purchase $600,000 rescue craft by selling sausages.”
However, a spokesman for VMR Southport said the organisation’s funding issues concerned northern VMR groups, where membership numbers were fewer, and not the Gold Coast.
“We’re nice and comfortable (on the Gold Coast). We have a well-populated client base,” he said. “We have four boats, one needs replacing in the next four to five years.
“It will probably cost around $400,000 to replace, but we can (afford) that.
“We want to let our members on the Gold Coast know, yes, we’re here. That’s what we want to get across.”
Speaking about VMR’s statewide predicament, Queensland president Dr Graham Kingston said: “We’ve had recent improvements in state funding for operational issues but the big issue is the replacement of our primary rescue vessels.
“Those can cost from $600,000 to up to $1 million, and at the moment we only get $100,000 from state government over a 10-year period to support that.
“With very limited fundraising capacity, it’s almost impossible for volunteers to (raise that money).”
WE WANT TO LET OUR MEMBERS ON THE GOLD COAST KNOW, YES, WE’RE HERE. THAT’S WHAT WE WANT TO GET ACROSS
VMR SOUTHPORT SPOKESMAN