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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-03 Daily Xml
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SWIMMING POOL SAFETY

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:00): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Correctional Services, representing the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, a question regarding home pool safety.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: In an effort to minimise the risk of toddlers becoming entangled in loop curtain and blind cords, the government recently announced the restricted sale and supply of curtains and blinds with loop cords, unless safety devices are included. I understand that the government was prompted to make these changes following the deaths of 10 Australian children who had been accidentally strangled by blind or curtain cords in the past eight years, including a death in 2007 of a South Australian toddler.

Since 2003, 164 children around Australia have drowned in backyard swimming pools, five of whom were in South Australia. In 1991, the Western Australian government recognised the dangers a backyard swimming pool poses and introduced mandatory fences for all backyard swimming pools, along with regular audits and inspections of the barriers. After these changes were implemented, Western Australia saw a decline in the drowning of children aged nought to five years from 21 deaths in the 2002 to 2004 period to six deaths from 2004 to 2007. In addition to these figures, it is suggested that, for every drowning, four children are hospitalised and 16 children will require emergency department care as a result of near drowning.

Given that the number of children around Australia dying as a result of accidental strangulation by a curtain cord or blind cord is significantly lower than the number of children drowning in backyard pools, my questions are:

1. Is the minister currently looking to improve backyard pool safety beyond the measures already introduced?

2. Given the success in Western Australia, has the minister considered introducing mandatory fences to all backyard pools, along with regular audits in South Australia and, if not, why not?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:01): Perhaps I should answer that question since essentially swimming pool fences come under the Development Act. Members might recall that we did pass some amendments to that act. I think they were initially rejected in this place either in 2006 or 2005 but some legislation was passed. The government introduced measures last year to address the issues relating to the gap between the new legislation requiring that modern Australian standards be incorporated into swimming pool fencing and the initial swimming pool fencing legislation that had been introduced some decades before.

Members might recall that the conditions the government introduced were to require that, when a house was put up for sale and before it could be sold, it would have to comply with the latest Australian standards in relation to swimming pool safety. That was a way of addressing the backlog of swimming pools built prior to the current legislation being enacted. The new provisions were enacted some time last year. From memory, it was 1 October (or thereabouts). Certainly, the government will be looking at that legislation to see how effective it is.

The problem we have in relation to dealing with these retrospective issues concerns how one can identify the places and ensure that legislation is enforced. Clearly, in relation to the provisions we introduced last year, when a property changes hands it is a very good time to ensure that the safety measures have been upgraded. Those measures, as I said, were introduced just over six months ago (or thereabouts). The government will certainly be monitoring them to see how effectively they work. If any further measures are required, we will certainly look at that.

I have seen some press articles interstate suggesting that other states—I think one was New South Wales—should follow South Australia's lead in terms of requiring these measures to be adopted when a house is sold. I am certainly happy to look at any reasonable suggestion to address this issue. Clearly, my colleague in another place has the key responsibility for that but, inasmuch as it falls within the Development Act, I am certainly keen to work with my colleague in another place to ensure that we have legislation that is practical and effective but, at the same time, meets practical requirements in relation to legislation.

I am happy to discuss with my colleague in another place any recent statistics in relation to that, and he can be assured that I will be monitoring the new laws to see how effective they are in terms of increasing the number of properties with swimming pools that have the required Australian standard fencing.

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