2019 Annual Report

Tēnā tātou katoa,

It is my pleasure, as Chair of the Board of Water Safety New Zealand, to present this annual report.

As the leadership organisation for the  water safety sector we are working towards the ambitious goal set in the Water Safety Sector Strategy 2020 that  ‘No one drowns’ and turning our minds and focus to what lies beyond.

The sector has a collective responsibility to ensure  all New Zealanders enjoy the water safely. This is a huge task and without the support of our members and sector organisations this would not be possible.

We all work extremely hard towards creating a step change to reduce New Zealand’s preventable drowning toll. The Board would like to express its thanks and gratitude to NZ Lottery Grants Board, ACC, Sport NZ, commercial partners and the many Trusts and Foundations for their ongoing support and investment.

The Board is confident in the financial performance of the organisation during a period of growth and increased capacity, and as population and participation continues to grow.

The preventable drowning toll of 66 for 2018, the second lowest since records began, is pleasing. But we need to see  a continued downward trend in the toll and a cultural shift  in the importance placed on water safety.

As Chair, I can say that the sector is working well collectively to reduce drownings and injuries. However, the social and economic costs remain too high. To address this, major work is currently underway to ensure our sector is fit for purpose and financially sustainable now and into the future.

Work continues on the goals set out in the Sector Capability Plan with a key priority being the need to secure long-term sustainable funding for the largely volunteer sector. We have also made great progress in our cultural capability and in  our work in partnership with Māori advisory group Tangaroa Ara Rau.

Water Skills for Life continues to be our flagship programme for drowning prevention and the focus of the majority of  our investment. Our goal that every child will learn Water Skills For Life across the country would not be achieved without partners including Swimming New Zealand, whose educators provide professional development to school and swim teachers, and some Regional Sports Trusts, councils and swim schools.

I thank my fellow Board members and wish to also take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Water Safety New Zealand staff, core members namely Coastguard New Zealand, Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Swimming New Zealand, general members and our numerous sector volunteers for your service, commitment and contributions.

Nga mihi ki te whanau whānui,
Danny Tuato’o, Board Chair

Tenā Koutou,

Coming off the second lowest drowning toll since records began is a hard act to follow, however as a water safety sector we can take encouragement that in relative terms preventable drowning fatalities are trending down against a growing population and participation. This is reflective of united sector efforts in both prevention initiatives and frontline rescue services, against a backdrop of growing expectation and demand for services. It’s worth acknowledging the achievements of all our partners in this space.

The stats have a habit of jumping around, a reflection of the complex problem we’re all trying  to solve. As an example, there were zero fatalities in the under-five category this time last  year (as we go to print), yet we have lost six toddlers so far this year in preventable situations. And in other segments, high immigration, growing international student numbers and the influx of tourists mean our goalposts are forever shifting.

This year we invested just over $2m into the community via our contestable funding round.  We attracted a record number of applications (96) for a total request of $5.2m. It’s a tough allocation challenge and means we must be very specific as to our funding priorities. For the first time we ran the funding round through an online grants administration system which delivered great efficiencies.

We exceeded our overall reach targets which means we are reaching more people. Another successful summer campaign with the return of The Swim Reaper far exceeded  its target metrics as well as delivering impactful evaluation.

New partnerships have been formed with ACC, Ministry of Education and Tangaroa Ara Rau (Māori Advisory Group) to support our Kia Maanu Kia Ora water safety programme and this has resulted in incremental investment into Māori water safety. We have enlisted our own Kaihautū (Hone Tibble) to help build our internal cultural capability as we focus on partnering for better outcomes for Māori.

The sector has made good progress against the short-term actions of the Capability Plan, particularly in our engagement with Central Government, implementing regional water safety plans and developing our Māori Water Safety Strategy.

Much of my focus has been leading the sector engagement with Government (along with Surf Life Saving New Zealand, Coastguard New Zealand and Swimming New Zealand).  A significant programme of work has been completed between Government officials and key sector partners to consider all the different sources of funding and to work out the best way to ensure the sector’s long-term sustainability. We have met with relevant Ministers to present  co-designed recommendations and solutions in relation to the pressures the sector is facing, at the same time acknowledging that not everything we do is the responsibility of the Government. These discussions continue in a positive manner.

We are working hard on better understanding why we do what we do and how we know it works – the evidence base and the causal factors. Linking practice with theory and better monitoring and evaluation are a priority going forward. In addition, acknowledging the fact  that we can’t go after everything, so we must target the things that are most important,  backed up by data and insights. Business as usual won’t lead to a step change.

Perhaps the thing I’m most proud of is the continued collaborative way we have worked together towards a common goal, acknowledging that many of our partners also have other agendas. This has been a great success out of the Water Safety Sector Strategy 2020.

Thanks to the Board for their guidance and continued challenge to make change. To our fantastic staff; we’ve welcomed four new members over the course of the last twelve months. Jo Kinnaird in Fundraising, George Bulleid in Marketing, Ants Lowe in Funding and Relationships, and Karen Wells in Policy and Research. We all work here because we genuinely care about the cause and want to make a difference.

To our funders, acknowledged above by our Chair, and all our members; we are grateful and appreciate your shared vision. We welcomed three new general members; Second Nature Charitable Trust trading as Vector Wero Whitewater Park, YMCA North and New Zealand Stand Up Paddling. Welcome to the Water Safety New Zealand whanau.

And to our generous corporate partners; The Warehouse, Protector Aluminium, G8 Safe and The Architects Choice – thank you.

We live in a changing world and what we do is a direct reflection of this. We are looking ahead, beyond 2020 and the next iteration of our collective strategic direction. Our mantra remains the same – no one organisation can solve this problem alone. It’s clear we need to secure long-term support to ensure sustainability of our sector. It’s also clear, in order to achieve a step change, we need to be prepared to adapt as well.

Naku noa, na
Jonty Mills, CEO