Daniel Gerrard: Water Safety NZ chief executive says there are still massive gaps despite lower drowning numbers

Lower numbers of drownings are a blip and not yet a trend. 61 lives have been lost in water-related incidents this year – 26 percent down compared to the 10-year average. Water Safety New Zealand says there needs to be more education in schools and a standardisation because each school is learning something different. Chief Executive Daniel Gerrard told Mike Hosking there are still massive gaps. “27 percent of eight-year-olds can’t even float for two minutes. That’s in a nice warm pool, you put them out in the difficult conditions – maybe a chop, maybe a swell – how long will people survive?” He says there needs to be a consistent approach. He says most schools are doing something, but there should be a greater alignment with international standards. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.