Salt rip safety fears
NORTHERN New South Wales lifeguard co-ordinator Scott McCartney has warned that dangerous rips were common at Salt's wide open beach, where a Sydney woman was rescued last Sunday.
Mr McCartney said while there wasn't a disproportionate amount of rescues required on the beach, rips were often more dangerous there.
But there's a cloud over the patrol of the beach.
Salt developer Tom Ray said they were required to fund the service for 10 years, which will end this month.
Mr Ray said scaling back the service could leave swimmers in trouble when volunteers were not on duty, potentially painting Salt beach as a dangerous holiday destination.
With beachgoer numbers increasing, Australian Lifeguard Service co-ordinator Brent Manieri called for extension to the seven-day, year-round service.
"We are working with Salt and the Tweed council to hopefully establish a long-term, extended lifeguard service in the area," Mr Manieri said.
The council's general manager Troy Green said while year-round patrols were unlikely to continue, they were liaising with Salt to find a solution.
