“Thousands of volunteers having been turning up all summer long pulling people out of the water, trying their best to keep our beaches safe and this bloke’s on holiday, you’re kidding, it’s embarrassing."
I don’t really have a horse in this race nor do I even understand surf life saving associations in Australia BUT I love a screaming headline and also any loose narrative tie to Nero fiddling while Rome burned.
Is any image more profound?
Historians dispute the accuracy, pointing to the facts that the fiddle didn’t exist until the 11th century and Nero was likely at his country home when the great fire destroyed, though they also say he may have sung songs about a different fire in another town.
In any case, complicated and I think we can switch the saying to “Australians drown while CEO….” something. What do you think he’s doing on his vacation? Let’s read the exclusive on 9 News who titled their piece EXCLUSIVE: Australians drowning at near-record levels while Surf Life Saving Australia CEO unavailable for comment.
Seventy-three people have drowned around the country in the 53 days since December 1.
That’s more than a drowning a day, almost a third of the 2017/18 death toll and 26 more fatalities than at this point last year and still with a month left of summer – according to data provided to 9news.com.au by Royal Life Saving Australia.
Despite those alarming figures, the CEO of Australia’s peak coastal water safety, drowning prevention and rescue authority – Surf Life Saving Australia – is currently on holiday and has not been contactable by 9news.com.au for the past two weeks.
A spokesperson for SLSA has told 9news.com.au Adam Weir – the SLSA’s chief representative positioned to respond to spikes in costal water safety incidents – has taken leave during the summer until at least January 25 but says he is in touch daily with key staff.
Around the country, the summer period has been disastrous when it comes to drownings on Australia’s beaches, rivers, lakes and pools, which have risen to a near-record level.
9news.com.au does not suggest the CEO’s absence is related to the increased number of drownings.
One volunteer surf life saver who patrols that beach told 9news.com.au he thought the situation was “embarrassing”.
“Thousands of volunteers having been turning up all summer long pulling people out of the water, trying their best to keep our beaches safe and this bloke’s on holiday, you’re kidding, it’s embarrassing,” he told 9news.com.au.
So what should the new saying be? Australians drown while CEO hoedowns? Australians drowns while CEO enjoys delicious cocktails in town?
I feel we can do better.
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Only thing worse than a clubbie is a surfer that is a clubbie
Kelly Slater wave pools must be everywhere with so many of those drownings in “pools” & “inland”.
Condolences to The Families of those who drowned, who lost their lives.
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Ah it’s just a way of saying “Yeah we’re Australians and we know Better”. Because let’s face it, we don’t.
Took us over 200 years to realize we stole the place and another 30 something years to before we thought it might be a good idea to apologize and say Sorry ?
there is something fake about that picture.
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Chappy Jennings ?
Chappy Jennings?
Even before I saw your post JB, that’s what I thought too.
Sure looks like what I remember of that cat from mags, moves, vhs vidz
waaay back when. Ripping with a bitchin’ style…
That shot was pretty famous of Chappy in the 80’s in the Australian Surf Media . Happened to be in the water one day at Dbah during that period and for such a little guy he was throwing down huge moves backside on and under the lip . . Was inspirational stuff for me to see up close in that era before every man woman and child’s every wave was filmed and posted .
this is bizarre as fuck. i posted this on the kelly article about greatest pipe photo ever and it showed up on this thread??
It amazes me, the cultural bigotry around drowning deaths in Australia. The vast majority of drownings in Australia, every year, are Australians. Yet many people persist in basically blaming the minority of foreign tourists who drown for their own deaths, “stupid” etc. Here’s a fucken wake up call, geniuses, no, not every nation on earth has a coastline like Australia’s and not every nation has a surf and swimming culture liike Australia’s. That does not make the citizens of said nations “stupid”. Indeed the vast majority of surfers I know can’t swim very well, and wouldn’t know how to do CPR on someone in a fit. THAT’S fucken stupid.
you should probably stop hanging out with adult learners then.
Summer’s driving me fucken insane.
It’s because Trump wants to build a wall around Australia next
The article I read said that most of the deaths happened in Victoria.
The solution seems obvious:
Invent a time-machine, travel back in time and assassinate Queen Victoria. Job done. Lives saved.
Paid council local government ones – plus clubbies volunteers
Happy Straya Day – me guessing a few more to that tally today when on piss!!!
Everyone saying is foreigners. It’s as much pissed Aussies and as any other group. I love me some drunken water time!
Migrants and tourists and foreign students account for 1/3 of drownings….and 105% massage parlour handjobs.
https://www.sbs.com.au/your…
happy burns’ night!
While on my holiday at the beach i better not drink to much as It would be embarrassing for the ceo of surf life saving to drown like the rest of them
? Really
“what’s a guy to do”?…fuck ya it’s the government way!
Kicked back
Why can’t Aussies swim? I’m confused.
Has a bit to do with new residents.
historically I am not a fan of the clubbies and have had regular run ins with them regarding where they put the flags or why they were for the most part such fuckwits. but I wonder how high these numbers of drownings (at least coastal) would be without their budgie smuggling, volunteer presence.
loads of people saved by surfers as well. My guess would be almost all drownings are out of patrolled areas/times, but that the number of people pulled from the water is going up with more first timers in the water, but that this is split evenly beteeen clubbies and bystanders
I get confused. is it fiddling when practiced on ones self and diddling when there is another person involved?
That’s correct . If evolution or the Gods did not want us to fiddle than we would have much shorter arms . Why does the dog lick it’s ball ? Because he can …..?
“the CEO’s absence”
Maybe he drowned?