Hon Maryan Street
Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Trade
Spokesperson for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations

4 January 2011

Media Release
Businesses urged to match Sealord’s water safety effort

Sealord is to be commended for its efforts in sponsoring swimming lessons for children, says Nelson-based Labour list MP Maryan Street, and she is challenging other companies to match the Nelson company’s commitment.

“Sealord is paying for each of its 660 Nelson-based workers to nominate a local child under 13 to receive 10 free swimming lessons. This is a great initiative, especially in a beautiful area like ours where people enjoy the water and water-related activities all year round,“ said Maryan Street.

“Other businesses around New Zealand should be encouraged to develop similar schemes in their areas. New Zealand has a shockingly high rate of drownings compared with other OECD countries. Half of 10 year old children can not swim 25 metres and a quarter can’t keep afloat. Swimming and water survival skills should be second nature to our children.

“Already this summer, there have been 9 drownings. Anything which helps our children to become competent in the water is an investment for life,” Maryan Street said.

“Sealord is promoting this initiative in conjunction with Water Safety New Zealand and is to be commended.

“ACC used to have water safety, or a Drowning Prevention Strategy, as one of its injury prevention workstreams but it has now been restructured, with less funding going into Water Safety NZ than before. The Government has been hell-bent on reducing ACC entitlements and payouts instead of concentrating on injury prevention. It even wrote injury prevention out of ACC’s governing legislation, taking us back a decade,” Maryan Street said.

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