TRANSPARENT INVESTIGATION NEEDED FOR SURF FUTURE

SURF lifesaving, for its own survival as an iconic Australian army of volunteers protecting our beaches, needs an independent inquiry. As revealed in today’s Bulletin, children as young as 11 have been sexually abused and are part of a legal assault file by Surf Life Saving Queensland that is facing compensation payouts up to $10m.

One payment was $2.4m. Apologies were given. SLSQ has confirmed the agreements, but says they must remain confidential.

The Bulletin started exposing these cultural issues in 2019. It was only after police charged a man with rape at a clubhouse and parents’ complaints to an MP about a “boys club” that SLSQ took action.

It says its meeting with AttorneyGeneral Shannon Fentiman on Wednesday to discuss the Safe and Respectful Environments Independent Review was “positive”.

SLSQ’s CEO David Whimpey and the board say they are confident their review will keep members’ experiences confidential and “has the capability to hear in full depth members’ experiences”.

SLSQ says it is advising anyone who has been the victim of illegal activity to go to the Queensland Police.

Until its response on Friday to the Bulletin’s questions, SLSQ had remained silent. In March, the organisation refused to answer 14 key Bulletin questions.

They included whether it was using an external consultant, had the consultant been used before, and did SLSQ have an “our people matter” workplace strategy?

All this was about asking whether SLSQ had undertaken a general health check-up on itself. At the heart of it, the Bulletin was asking if the organisation had standards on equity and diversity similar to other emergency groups.

The reality here is a lot clearer than often the rips which appear off the Coast’s treacherous northern beaches.

SLSQ is an extremely high-risk and vulnerable organisation.

Its volunteers are a mix of both sexes, young and old. Lawyers acting for complainants of sexual assault have talked about their concerns of alcohol consumption at clubs.

Mix this with the fact that volunteers in competition or patrolling the beaches often stay in overnight accommodation at the clubs.

SLSQ needs more than a survey of members. It must get approval from an independent authority experienced with organisational safety and behaviour issues on how it can reform its internal management structures to best protect its own.