CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr THISTLETHWAITE (Kingsford Smith—Assistant Minister for Immigration and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) (10:39): Our community continues to hold Leah Stewart and her family in our thoughts, following the shark attack at Coogee earlier this month. Leah was swimming in the middle of the day, right between the flags and 20-metres out from the shore when she was bitten by a great white shark.
The ordeal she's faced has been unimaginable. But in recent days, there's been positive news, with Leah brought back from heavy sedation. She's awake and alert, and she's been able to speak with her family and her medical team much sooner than anyone expected.
Her brother shared that both Leah and her young son, August, were overjoyed to see each other last night for the first time since the shark attacks. These past weeks have been the first time they've been apart overnight. Leah also publicly thanked the staff at St Vincent's Hospital for their care.
Her strength and her recovery and the love surrounding her have given our whole community a sense of hope. In moments like these, we're reminded of the extraordinary people who step forward when danger like this strikes. Our lifeguards, surf lifesavers and first responders acted immediately that day, showing courage, professionalism and deep compassion.
Their actions saved a life. I want to acknowledge Charlie Verco, a Bondi lifesaver who happened to be training for the Molokai surfboard race. Charlie was paddling from Maroubra to Coogee when he saw the incident unfold.
Without hesitation, he risked his own life to get Leah onto his board and bring her back to shore as quickly as possible. I also want to thank Coogee Surf Life Saving Club president Ben Heenan. Ben was one of the first on the scene, offering first aid and help to stabilise Leah.
It's unfortunately not the first time Ben's been involved in an incident like this. He was involved in the dramatic rescue that occurred on New Year's Day of a swimmer who unfortunately drowned. His actions remind us that surf lifesavers are always on duty, whether the flags are up or not.
I want to also recognise the Randwick lifeguards and, in particular, my mate Luke Twitchings, 'Twizo'. This is unfortunately not the first shark attack that he's had to respond to in recent years, and those things can take a toll on our first responders. This incident, along with the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy over the summer, has prompted further action by our government and by the NSW Government.
We acted quickly to lift the ban on drone flights at Coogee, and 70 beaches across New South Wales will now be monitored by drones in the summer months and at least one beach in every municipality during the winter months. It's a $34 million investment in the state's shark protection program, bringing total funding to $120 million over the next two years. To everyone who responded to help Leah that day: thank you.
It was wonderful to get back in the water last week at Coogee with thousands of swimmers to say that the beach is an important part of our culture, and we wish Leah all the best in her recovery. This incident, along with the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy over the summer, has prompted further action by our government and by the NSW Government. We acted quickly to lift the ban on drone flights at Coogee, and 70 beaches across New South Wales will now be monitored by drones in the summer months and at least one beach in every municipality during the winter months.
It's a $34 million investment in the state's shark protection program, bringing total funding to $120 million over the next two years.