NT charity working with councils to reopen local pools

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Children in some of the Northern Territory's hottest remote communities have been swimming in crocodile infested rivers because their local pools are closed. It's also increasing the risk of children contracting dangerous skin diseases. But across the NT, a charity is now working with local councils to re-open them.

Transcript

00:00 In the remote community of Nooker, heat and humidity are soaring, forcing the local Aboriginal

00:09 corporation to provide makeshift relief.

00:12 "The pool is not working, we can't go swimming."

00:15 "And how long has the pool not been open for?"

00:19 "Nearly one year."

00:20 "Because it's so hot, we need to get some cool."

00:24 Residents of the South Arnhem Land community are worried kids have been swimming in the

00:29 Roper River, home to large crocodiles.

00:32 "Some of the kids, they went down to the river and it's not safe for them."

00:37 Since the drowning of a child in Kintore, west of Alice Springs, three years ago, seven

00:42 of the NT's 18 remote pools and water parks have closed.

00:47 The Roper Gulf Council says the closure of its pools in Nooker and Barlula is mostly

00:53 due to staff shortages and liability concerns.

00:57 "The big thing for us was lifeguards, see?

01:00 That's the risk of running a pool for any council."

01:04 But now the YMCA is partnering with local councils to reopen pools, enlisting volunteer

01:11 lifeguards from across Australia.

01:13 "People give their time, their own time, their own commitment to giving back to community."

01:19 A key benefit of kids being able to get into their local pool is that the chlorinated water

01:24 clears up a series of dangerous skin, ear and eye infections which are common in indigenous

01:30 communities.

01:31 "All of those conditions early in life lead to kidney and heart failure, loss of sight,

01:36 loss of hearing."

01:37 The skyrocketing rate of infection isn't the only problem.

01:42 For remote kids, swimming lessons are also vital.

01:45 "Aboriginal children are two and a half times more likely to drown than non-Aboriginal children."

01:51 While pools in Kintore, Wadair and Yundmu are still closed, the YMCA has helped reopen

01:57 them in Nukur and Barlula.

02:01 And local kids couldn't be more excited.

02:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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