During a trip to the far south coast on August 29, NSW Premier Chris Minns has launched two Marine Rescue vessels during a ceremony with dignitaries and Merimbula volunteers.
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00:00 Hi Chris, good thank you.
00:02 It's beautiful down here isn't it?
00:04 Hey Chris, hey Liz, how are you going?
00:06 Really started coming down here when the Bega by-election was on, so not this March but
00:16 the one prior.
00:17 Got to know Marimbula and Marui Abatements Bay and some of the beautiful parts of this
00:23 southern part of New South Wales.
00:25 But it's also the case that because it's quite remote and because it's not too far, only
00:32 a couple of nautical miles or 30 nautical miles off the continental shelf, it is subject
00:36 to some wild weather and it comes up quick, particularly from the south.
00:41 And surfers will tell you that, boaties will tell you that, fishermen will tell you the
00:45 same thing.
00:46 So you need the infrastructure to keep people safe because the weather can turn quickly
00:51 and people's lives can be tipped upside down in a moment's notice.
00:55 The aspect of volunteerism is so strong on the New South Wales south coast and that is
01:01 regular people deciding to give something back to their community and in some cases
01:06 put yourself in harm's way.
01:08 But I can promise you that if a boatie's out there or someone is suffering or in distress,
01:14 seeing you come up over the horizon in those blue uniforms will make a world of difference
01:19 and I've got no doubt that the Marine Rescue in Maroondula and the Marine Rescue in New
01:23 South Wales in particular has a proud history of being there when no one else could be there
01:29 and saving people's lives.
01:30 Never done it before, so I hope I don't damage the hull by smashing a champagne bottle on
01:36 top of it.
01:37 Probably a good waste of some champagne.
01:39 That be right, Dr Mike?
01:41 The commissioning of a vessel is definitely steeped in maritime history and for us to
01:45 officially welcome Boat Police Craft into our fleet officially is a very important day
01:50 on our schedule and to look around the crowd also and to see our maritime partners in New
01:54 South Wales Maritime, New South Wales Marine Area Command, it's great to have you here
01:58 because as a collective on water agency that actually do make boating safer in New South
02:05 Wales, there's no doubt about that, it's important that we stand shoulder to shoulder
02:09 and we continue to work together.
02:11 So on behalf of all Australians, thank you for your service during the 2019-2020 bushfires.
02:16 We have two vessels to commission today and we thought since we've got two we'll start
02:26 with the smaller one and build up.
02:28 You the commander, there you go Bill.
02:31 Tip it over there.
02:33 Where the boat is.
02:35 Alright, it's now launched.
02:37 Well maybe we could continue to see what's going on.
02:43 Don't fall in.
02:47 Alright, it's good.
02:51 Lord God Almighty, bless these vessels and all who serve and sail within them.
02:58 For two great new vessels, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray.
03:04 Thank you very much.
03:07 Premier, you've been in government for a number of months now but your first commissioning
03:14 of marine rescue New South Wales vessels, how are you feeling?
03:17 I feel great, that's the first one, got to tip some champagne on the front of MB31, that's
03:21 right Bill isn't it?
03:22 And MB20.
03:23 And MB20, so fantastic to have them as part of the fleet, I've got no doubt they're going
03:27 to do amazing work over the summer months and keep people safe and keep fishers safe
03:31 and make sure that people get back to shore and everything's intact.
03:35 And it really is a great investment from the New South Wales Government in a service like
03:39 Marine Rescue New South Wales to keep boaters safe on the water.
03:42 We're happy to do it and particularly when we're partnering with what is mainly a volunteer
03:46 organisation, I'm just in awe at the hundreds of people down here at Marimbula who join
03:52 this organisation and want to give something back to their local community.
03:55 A little bit of money from the State Government goes a long way.
03:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]