Apollo Bay P12 College pushes the state government to fund $14m VBOSS centre

The recent suspected double drowning of two men off the Otways coastline has sparked renewed calls for an “urgently needed” ocean safety centre on the Great Ocean Rd.

The recent suspected double drowning of two fishermen off the Otways coastline has sparked a renewed push for an “urgently needed” new ocean safety centre in Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Rd.

There are fears more people could drown if the project doesn’t go ahead, with calls for urgent state government funding.

Student leaders at Apollo Bay P12 College have called on Premier Daniel Andrews to commit $14m in funding in the upcoming state budget to build the Victorian Blue Ocean Safety Skills (VBOSS) Centre.

The centre will train students, volunteers and emergency services personal in vital blue water safety skills.

It comes after a 30-year-old fisherman Long Do drowned in the Gellibrand River near the Great Ocean Rd on Sunday.

Mr Do’s friend Vinh Nguyen, who is also a fisherman, tried to save him but was sucked into the sea himself and has not been seen since.

VBOSS development co-ordinator David Gorrie said the incident was a “total wake up call” and that VBOSS was “urgently” needed as it will train more than 3000 students a year in vital water safety skills.

These young adults will then be advocates for greater awareness throughout the community — such as Apollo Bay P12 school captains Yoko Tripp, Jade Bertrand, Ned Carney and Callum Gorrie.

Apollo Bay School Captains Yoko Tripp, Callum Gorrie, Ned Carney and Jade Bertrand are calling on the Premier to fund VBOSS. Picture: Supplied

“Once you train upwards of 3000 students and young teenagers a year in how to identify dangerous surf conditions and how to safely interact with the surf — those young adults are then taking that knowledge back throughout their communities and that in essence is making Victoria a safer place,” Mr Gorrie said.

“We have had considerable interaction with emergency services in Victoria and the organisations that fund surf lifesaving clubs,” he said.

The leaders have written to the Premier requesting his support in securing the remaining funding for VBOSS but are also calling on him to visit Apollo Bay to learn first hand about the community driven initiative that has attracted widespread bipartisan support and has the backing of Life Saving Victoria.

Mr Gorrie said the school and community have been “frustrated” and “devastated” by a lack of progress on government funding.

Mr Gorrie was told the funding for the project was going ahead in 2021 but then it didn’t come through.

“Drowning deaths in Victoria and Australia continue to grow every year — and the latest drowning death that happened at the weekend just highlighted the fact that what is needed is a greater level of surf awareness training in the community,” Mr Gorrie said.

An artist's concept design of the VBOSS Centre. Picture: Apollo Bay SLSC

“The vast majority of these deaths don’t happen at patrol beaches — they happen at beaches that are not patrolled so what you desperately need is to know what constitutes dangerous surf conditions.

“Unless the government comes good and funds an initiative like VBOSS — we will continue to see increasing numbers of Victorians and Australians die — it’s not an expensive spend to seriously address these drowning deaths.”

Mr Gorrie said Life Saving Victoria also wanted to see the VBOSS centre happen.

“It’s ludicrous — we’ve got all these people saying it’s great idea yet more people continue to die in Victoria just like we witnessed at the Gellibrand River and nothing is happening,” he said.

Mr Gorrie said multicultural groups in Victoria also supported the push for the centre.

Artist's impression of the VBOSS centre. Picture: Apollo Bay SLSC

“We had the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria — which is one of the fastest growing multicultural groups in Victoria — come out and said our community needs a centre like this, because multicultural communities are representing the drowning statistics as well,” he said.

“It ticks all the boxes all around — an aspect that is killing people every year still misses out on funding, it’s just crazy.

“This project’s impact could save more lives and has been so roundly endorsed and supported by both sides of politics but is yet to receive funding — if people equipped the knowledge to look at those surf conditions and can determine whether it’s unsafe, there’s a couple of lives saved.”

VBOSS was endorsed by the Andrews Government in 2021, with former deputy premier and Education Minister James Merlino MP confirming support for the construction of group accommodation facilities at the Apollo Bay P-12 College.

Mr Merlino wrote to the school saying the government shared its commitment to the provision of quality learning environments and that he ‘looked forward to the successful delivery of this exciting project’.

Mr Gorrie said the college and surf lifesaving club has been pushing to have the VBOSS Centre funded since 2019.

“Since then annual deaths by drowning have been at record levels,” he said.

An analysis by the Colac Otway Shire Council predicts the VBOSS centre will be a driver for economic growth in regional Victoria and estimates it will deliver a $34 million boost to the region and lead to the creation of 70 jobs.

The State Government have been contacted for comment.