As Chair of the Water Safety New Zealand Board, it is my pleasure to present the annual report. Too many New Zealanders continue to lose their lives or get injured in our waterways at great cost to New Zealand. However, without the efforts of our members and sector organisations the numbers would be catastrophic.

The 90 preventable drownings for the 2021 calendar year, the highest since 2011, is disappointing for all Kiwis. This, combined with the worst summer holiday period in 40 years, a near tripling of preventable drownings (14), has been described in the media as a “national disgrace”.

The Wai Ora Aotearoa Strategy 2025- NZ’s Water Safety Sector Strategy, commits sector partners, to continue to work together towards common goals with greater impact and efficiency. This strategy is our collective response.

As the lead agency of the sector strategy, Water Safety New Zealand will continue to drive the strategy’s implementation, and report back. WSNZ and the sector will also stand accountable for its results. However, no one organisation can make the step change alone.

The sector has developed aspirational goals, determined measurable targets, and agreed an action plan to achieve the sector outcomes. There has been strong collaboration during the development of this strategy. We now need to continue to work constructively together to implement, monitor and evaluate our action plan, so that we reach our vision “Everyone connects to and enjoys the water safely”.

Clearly, we all need to continue working closely together to do something different - a step change - to improve the summer of 2021/22 tragedies and provide for New Zealanders’ well-being. WSNZ’s Board firmly believes that if all parties responsible for water safety and drowning prevention work collectively, align behaviours and invest based on evidence, we can improve New Zealanders’ community well-being and avoid another Summer 2021/22.

As an organisation, WSNZ has revitalised itself to be completely aligned with the Sector Strategy. As a refreshed organisation we now strive to be partner-centric, have decisions and areas of focus based on robust evidence and a drive for a long-term, intergenerational approach to behaviour change.

I thank my fellow Board members. In particular, Matt Barker, who has served two terms (6 years) as a general member, Maurice Kidd, with two terms as Independent Member and Interim Chair, Margaret McKee, 1 term as Core Member Swimming, and Dean Lawrence, two terms as Core Member - Coastguard NZ. Your contribution to the sector has been outstanding.

I wish to also take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Water Safety New Zealand staff who have dealt with numerous changes over the year. To our core members namely Coastguard New Zealand, Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Swimming New Zealand, general members and our numerous sector volunteers thank you for your service, commitment, and contributions.

Kate Wareham,
Water Safety New Zealand Board Chair

It gives me great pleasure to present my second Annual Report for Water Safety NZ. 2020/21 has been both challenging and rewarding. In the calendar year of 2021 there were 90 recreational (intending to be in the water) and non-recreational (no intention of being in the water) preventable drowning fatalities. This is 1.76 per 100,000 Kiwis, up from the five-year average of 1.67. Australia’s per capita rate is 1.1 and Canada’s 1.3. Each fatality comes with a human and financial cost. It’s a life cut-short and itleaves families and communities devastated.

Our drowning rate is something every New Zealander should see as a national disgrace and one we all have a responsibility to address.

Preventable fatalities in 2021 increased by 7% on 2020 (84) and 13% on the 10-year average (80). 2021 had the highest number of preventable drowning deaths since 2011.

Like 2020, there were lockdowns and restrictions of varying levels in New Zealand in 2021. December 2021, the beginning of summer and the move to fewer restrictions in the orange level of the traffic light system saw 17 fatalities, almost double December2020 (9) and over 50% higher than the five-year average (11).December 2021 was the highest December since 1998