Glen Scanlon: Water Safety NZ CEO on the 2025 drowning toll increase

On December 22 New Zealand reported that 70 people had lost their lives from drowning, in the nine final days of 2025 eight more died. 

Water Safety NZ's CEO Greg Scanlon joined Andrew Dickens to analyse how we fared in the water last year, and how to stay safe for the remainder of the summer. 

"Look at the common sense things you can do to keep yourself and your friends and your family safe," Scanlon said.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
So the summer drowning toll for twenty twenty five is out.
It came out late on Friday. Five people lost their
lives and water related incidents over the holiday period. The
latest deaths happened yesterday when two men were caught up
in a rip and pulled from the water but died
at the scene. For twenty twenty five, two hundred and
seventy two people died. That's down from two hundred and

(00:36):
ninety two. But as we already seen from the figures
that we're seeing from this holiday period, drownings on the
rise on the line as Glenn Scanlon, who's Watery Safety
New Zealand CEO, Glenn, good morning, Good morning Andrew.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
How's it going good?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Are we concerned about this holiday period? Are we not
learning the lessons?

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Look, we had five days and we always look at one.
One death is one too many to be frank and
we really want to offer our condoleances to those impacteds
five compared for the previous year, so just a slight increase,
but over the summer period overalls starting from December. We

(01:17):
are ahead of the same period last year. And look,
I just want to jump in and say, actually we
had seventy the stage provisionally seventy eight deaths or all
of twenty twenty five, so a little lesson the figure
you'se quoted in the start here.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
So here we are. The peak holiday period is ending
this week, but people are still getting into the water
because it's warm. So what would you say to people
over the next few weeks.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
Well, I'd say, look, what we've had probably over that
peak period is actually quite a lot of bad weather,
so it's probably kept people out of the water for
a lot of that time, sadly because we all like
to get it enjoy it. So now that the weather
is probably on the improve again, what I say to
people is, you know, look at the common sense things

(02:06):
you can do to keep yourself and your friends and
your family safe. So never swim alone. If you can
swim at beaches that are patrolled, and if lifeguards are
patrolling at those beaches, don't get in the water. Don't
dive alone. Another really important one if you're fishing from

(02:27):
rocks or a boat that's underway, where a life jacket
is going to increase your survivability if you unexpectedly end
up in the water, and that's what happens. People don't
expect to be in the water, but three times. This
time you're really point to water is not to drink
and get into the water alcohol the water, just do
not make keep a really close eye on your kids

(02:49):
in particularly also at home, because a lot of people
put out temporary pools which aren't fenced, and there's quite quite.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
A lot of risk quickly. The big one is when
you get caught in a rip peovil panic. What should
they do?

Speaker 3 (03:06):
Well? First thing, really great advice on the Siflight Saving
Sight about how spot a rap. So let's look for
that sort of river of water between the waves that
looks like it's sort of racing back out to sea.
You actually want to swim in the waves, not in
the calm patch. If you do find yourself on a
the best thing to do is float and let it

(03:27):
take you out. It's not going to pull you under it.
It's going to take you out and then a lot
of rops will bring you back to shore in some form.
So float for as long as you can give yourself
the opportunity to raise the ALAR and you'll be a
lot better off.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Glenn, I thank you so much. Glenn'scanlan is the Water
Safety New Zealand CEO.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
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