Lifesaving takes a dive after huge payout

Flags at Bondi Beach, Australia, designate a safe swimming zone

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- A $2 million payout to a Sydney man paralysed after diving into the surf at Bondi Beach has raised questions about the effectiveness of Australia's beach safety programs.

A Supreme Court jury has found the local council which runs Bondi Beach responsible for the injuries which left Guy Swain a quadriplegic.

Swain was swimming in a designated safe area between surf lifesaving flags when he struck his head on a sandbar.

The case has far-reaching implications, with a likely rise in insurance premiums for coastal councils expected to impact on the viability of maintaining beach patrols, and concern over the effectiveness of Australia's beach safety programs.

Over three million tourists visit Australia's beaches each year, with Japan and Singapore ranking among the top five markets for inbound tourists to Australia.

Overseas visitors are advised when they enter the country that they should rely on professional lifeguards, supported by 45,000 volunteer lifesavers, and specifically the location of the lifesaving flags, to tell them whether a beach is safe for swimming.

In the four years to 2000, there were 138 drownings at surf beaches in Australia, 21 of those drowned were visitors from Asia, government statistics show.

Lawyers for Swain argued convincingly that by entering the water between the surf lifesaving flags he was entitled to assume it was a safe and patrolled area.

Negligence

The jury found the council, which has care, control and management of the beach had been negligent in failing to warn of the danger in using the beach.

The council is now claiming it may have to close the beach or remove lifeguard services as it looks for ways to combat substantial liability claims and payouts.

Local mayor Paul Pearce said that swimming and surfing were dangerous and the flags were only a guide, not a guarantee of safety.

The council, which in February gave lifeguards the ability to impose $120 on-the-spot fines for not swimming between the flags, says it will now be reviewing the practice of where it puts safety flags.

"A judgement like this forces you to think one solution would be to pull out your flags, withdraw your lifeguards and close your surf clubs and put up a sign saying 'beach closed'," Pearce said.

In that eventualilty, the council said, lives would be threatened. The council is planning to appeal the case.

The mayor of Queensland's Gold Coast, one of Australia's most well-known stretches of beach, said lifesaving services were under a cloud.

"You would have to ask yourself should we be in the business of trying to protect people from themselves. This has far reaching effects for the lifeguard services and lifesaving on the Gold Coast," Mayor Gary Baildon said.