Sun, sand, beaches and budgie-smugglers are all synonymous with Aussie summer. But for those living in remote Australia, the local pool is a cornerstone of everyday life. For local councils in the Northern Territory, the costs of keeping a pool up and running can be crippling, leaving some communities without a safe place to swim.
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00:00Under the burning midday sun in the remote community of Wurrumiyanga on the Tiwi Islands,
00:08a pool, once the lifeblood of the community, sits abandoned.
00:12We don't have the money to fund the staff, we don't have the money to pay the power,
00:16the water bill.
00:17The local council renewing a push for funding by commissioning a master plan to be completed
00:22by February for a sporting precinct with a pool and a mini water park.
00:27Bringing those good health outcomes back and also good school attendance back.
00:32The NT has the highest rate of Aboriginal drowning deaths of any jurisdiction in Australia.
00:38Mostly they occur in remote or very remote areas.
00:42After a 12-year-old girl was killed by a saltwater croc while swimming at a creek near Palumpa
00:46earlier this year, the Tiwi Council fears it's only a matter of time before another
00:51child is taken.
00:53We don't want our children getting taken by crocs or sharks, stung by jellyfish.
00:58The council also looking to bring back a no school, no pool policy, which they say was
01:02instrumental in boosting school attendance.
01:06Everybody will be using it, everybody's going to benefit.
01:09In the community of Nooka in Arnhem Land, lifeguard Patrick says the pool gives locals
01:14new skills and opportunities.
01:17Getting traditional people, community members to come work at the pool so they can work
01:21themselves up to be maybe the boss of this pool.
01:24While the case for building pools in remote areas is compelling, getting one up and running
01:29is easier said than done.
01:31Even if council can stump up the funds to build a pool, keeping one open long term is
01:37perhaps the greatest struggle.
01:38It can be up to $600,000 per year to operate a pool.
01:45Calls for more than just a one-off cash splash to keep remote pools afloat.