VISITORS to the Hamilton area over Christmas engaged with locals in speculating on Facebook over the reason for the limited hours the Southern Grampians Shire Council (SGSC) outdoor swimming pools were open.
A post by Southern Grampians Shire Outdoor Swimming Pools on Christmas Day that said the Glenthompson Swimming Pool would be closed on Boxing Day due to lifeguard unavailability, triggered 34 comments, some criticising the Shire.
Respondents were not convinced that lifeguard shortage was the reason, with one respondent saying, “we actually have one (a lifeguard) - they just don’t want to open [sic] everyday” while another said it was, “because they don’t want to pay staff to be there would be more like it”, and another said, “I’m hoping it’s not a case of cost cutting by our Shire”.
A further post by a community member on Hamilton Victoria’s Community Group Facebook page on December 30, 2022, asked why the Hamilton Olympic Swimming Pool was not open more often, again triggering a number of criticisms.
One respondent said, “the other day when it was 37-39, it still wasn’t open at 12 like the sign says it will be”.
One local who contacted The Hamilton Spectator and asked to not be named, read the posts and said the claim that there was a lifeguard shortage by SGSC, was “bogus”.
They said they knew of young people who had responded to SGSC advertisements to recruit lifeguards and had paid around $500 in total, for a first aid course and lifeguard accreditation, but were either not employed, or if they were, were not being given shifts.
“It’s halfway through summer and these kids have been on holiday for four to five weeks already and will be lucky to recoup the money they have invested into training before the end of summer,” they said.
“The other day when it was 40 degrees and not open due to lack of lifeguards, was a flat out lie.
“These courses actually require several full days of training, so it is a significant commitment on the part of the trainees.”
Another respondent also said in reply to the post that they had applied to be a lifeguard at Glenthompson but were awaiting to hear back if they had been accepted.
A follow-up post by Southern Grampians Shire Outdoor Swimming Pools on December 31, said opening hours of public outdoor swimming pools within the Shire were guided by the Operation of Outdoor Pools Policy.
The post said that Council’s policy allowed all pools to remain operational, while managing the increasing running costs of six outdoor pools, ageing infrastructure, low patronage and staff shortages.
It said, “the implementation of this policy is dependent on the availability of qualified Lifeguards” but that “after a comprehensive recruitment campaign, we are currently unable to meet this policy due to the lack of appropriately qualified lifeguards employed”.
Southern Grampians Shire Council was contacted for a further response, however, did not respond due to absences over the annual Christmas and New Year break.