SENIOR students at an Apollo Bay school have directly appealed to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to include funding for the Victorian Blue Ocean Safety Skills (VBOSS) Centre in the coming State Budget.<\/p>\n
In the wake of another bad summer for drowning deaths across Victoria and Australia, proponents of VBOSS say the facility is urgently needed as it will train more than 3,000 students a year in vital water safety skills.<\/p>\n
School captains Yoko Tripp, Jade Bertrand, Ned Carney and Callum Gorrie said those trained students would then be advocates for greater awareness throughout the community.<\/p>\n
They have written to the Premier requesting the $14.4 million for VBOSS but also calling on him to visit Apollo Bay to learn first-hand about the initiative that has attracted widespread bipartisan support.<\/p>\n
A community-driven initiative of the Apollo Bay Surf Life Saving Club (ABSLSC) and Apollo Bay P-12 College, VBOSS has been endorsed by Life Saving Victoria, community groups, business leaders, educators and all sides of politics.<\/p>\n
The school and community say they have been frustrated by a lack of progress on funding after state ministers publicly expressed support for VBOSS but were yet to provide any funding for construction.<\/p>\n
This includes former deputy premier and education minister James Merlino in 2021, who worte to the school confirming support for the construction of group accommodation facilities at the Apollo Bay P-\u00ad12 College and that he “looked forward to the successful delivery of this exciting project”.<\/p>\n
Other endorsements came from former minister for emergency services Lisa Neville in 2020, who urged the community to work with LSV to sure it was included in their 2021-22 State Budget proposal; and incumbent Minister for Emergency Services Minister Jacyln Symes, who in 2021 said VBOSS had been raised by LSV for consideration as part of the Department of Justice and Community Safety’s 2023-24 State Budget process and the community should continue to work with them to realise it.<\/p>\n
Polwarth Liberal MP Richard Riordan also pledged $15 million for VBOSS and to redevelop the ABSLSC clubrooms if his party formed government at last year’s state election.<\/p>\n
“It’s clear that VBOSS has attracted strong levels of senior state government support and we’re now calling on the Premier to make good on that support and fully fund an initiative that will work on cutting the State’s shocking drowning death toll,” the captains said.<\/p>\n
VBOSS proponents say analysis by Colac Otway Shire predicts the centre will deliver an estimated $34 million boost to the region and lead to the creation of 70 jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SENIOR students at an Apollo Bay school have directly appealed to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to include funding for the Victorian Blue Ocean Safety Skills (VBOSS) Centre in the coming State Budget. In the wake of another bad summer for drowning deaths across Victoria and Australia, proponents of VBOSS say the facility is urgently needed […]<\/p>\n