Lifesavers could operate drones off Gold Coast beaches within a year
LIFESAVER drones could be used off Gold Coast beaches according to Surf Life Saving Queensland staff. This comes in the wake of a world first remote control surf rescue in northern NSW this week.
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LIFESAVER drones could be used off Gold Coast beaches as early as next summer, according to Surf Life Saving Queensland staff.
This comes in the wake of a world first remote control surf rescue in northern NSW this week.
“We haven’t ruled out the opportunity for operations for the Gold Coast in the next 12 months,” said SLSQ lifesaving operations co-ordinator Jason Argent, who has overseen drone operations on the Sunshine Coast, North Stradbroke Island and Cairns in the past year.
Lifesaving underwent a major shift in NSW on Thursday when a Westpac Little Ripper drone, controlled by a lifeguard and a drone pilot, dropped a flotation pod to two teens struggling in surf off Lennox beach.
The rescue, in which teens Monty Greenslade, 16, and Gabe Vidler, 17, were able to reach shore easily once they had grabbed the inflated tube, was heralded as a “game changer” for beach safety by the device’s developer, former Queensland water police officer Eddie Bennet, who also supplies drones to SLSQ.
The rescue came a month after the NSW Government said it would invest $430,000 in the drone technology as part of an ongoing trial in northern NSW.
Mr Argent said northern Gold Coast beaches which are not as heavily patrolled as the main beaches would benefit from drone patrols.
“Those areas where there’s not as many services, especially that northern end up around the Southport to the Spit area and the South Stradbroke Island area, are opportunities,” Mr Argent said.
“It would probably be on the northern end of the Gold Coast.”
Acting Mayor Donna Gates said she would listen to the advice of SLSQ and
professional lifeguards.
“We need to be guided by the professionals,” she said.
An April 2017 city council report looking into Gold Coast lifeguards using drones recommended the “ongoing assessment of the potential (for drones) to be deployed”.
“Consideration is being given to the use of drones for other lifeguard related purposes, eg
patrolling for swimmers in difficulty, rapid deployment of flotation devices as an adjunct to
existing lifeguard services,” the report read.
Chief lifeguard Warren Young yesterday said he did not want to comment on their use.
Mr Young had previously said he was not convinced about the effectiveness of drones but he was open to trialling new things.
Burleigh MP Michael Hart said he supported a Gold Coast trial.
“Given the cost involved in flying these things rather than a fully fledged helicopter, I think it’s well worth a trial,” Mr Hart said.
“Having human eyes in the sky is probably a better outcome but the dramatic change of cost could have these things flying a lot more often compared to a helicopter.”
Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said the organisation was open to working with Gold Coast lifesaving clubs.
He said the Gold Coast Airport and flight paths into the city could be an issue.
“We want to facilitate these things, they just have to be balanced with public safety,” Mr Gibson said.
“There will be issues with the southern end of the Gold Coast because normally you’re not permitted to fly them within 5.5km from a major airport.
“But there have been cases where we have allowed them to operate in these areas. Certified operators can get exemptions.”