How much is a visit to the local pool worth? According to a growing swell of Sydney councillors, it’s valuable enough to be free.
Greens and independent councillors on the City of Sydney, Lane Cove and Inner West councils will all move motions at meetings this week proposing a change to how pool access fees are determined, seeking to seize on the momentum of councils across the country that are lowering pool entry fees.
Public pools are attractive offerings but can come with a hefty price tag.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Both Melbourne and Brisbane city councils have made entry to their pools free (all year in Melbourne and at off-peak times in Brisbane). Residents in Melbourne also have free access to swimming lessons in the pools.
In the City of Sydney, Greens councillor Matthew Thompson is asking council staff to review whether it would be financially viable to make entry to council pools free or significantly cheaper.
“Right now, it costs nearly $10 to visit one of our pools for a single dip. That’s ridiculous,” he said. “Pools are a public good, and much like libraries, they should be free and accessible to everyone, no matter their income.
“Almost all our pools are underutilised, with fewer visitors across our six facilities now than before COVID. This is a practical, commonsense step we can take to encourage people to dive back into our world-class pools while helping to keep more money in their pockets.”
In Lane Cove, Greens councillor Rochelle Flood and independent councillor Kathy Bryla are pushing the council to investigate discounted pricing models.
“This is a council asset and people have already paid for it,” Flood said. “At the end of the day, I want to do something that’s financially viable but does address those affordability and access concerns.”
Counterintuitively, reducing the cost of pool entry could improve a pool’s financial success, or at the very least not harm it too much, the councillors argue.
They point to a trial undertaken by the Snowy Valleys Council, in far south NSW, where free entry to the council’s five pools led to a 23 per cent increase in visits and a 241 per cent increase in income generated around the pool, including from cafe sales and swimming and aquarobics classes. It reported only a 1.5 per cent increase in operating costs.
But the council did return to a form of fee entry after the trial, partially citing an increase in antisocial behaviour.
In the inner west, Greens councillors Izabella Antoniou and Olivia Barlow are asking their council to investigate a trial of free pool entry at public pools, potentially for days when the temperature hits a certain level.
“The local public pool is statistically the safest place to swim by a wide margin,” said R. J. Houston, general manager of capability and industry at Royal Life Saving Australia. “RLSA is a supporter of any initiative which lowers barriers to community pools and swimming and water safety programs.
“Kids need both supervision and basic water skills. Parents should enrol kids in top-up lessons.”
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