I wish to acknowledge the Yugambeh people as traditional custodians of the land on which we are meeting.
And I wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this region. I would also like to acknowledge and welcome other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may be attending today’s event.
I would like to thank Andrew McKinnon and his team for their work on this conference.
I would also like to acknowledge His Excellency, Peruvian Ambassador to Australia, Ambassador Gallardo. I also cannot miss the chance to shoutout so many iconic Australian surfers, including Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholemew, Brad Farmer, Layne Beachley and Tom Carroll.
Speaking as a surf lifesaver of over 30 years, it is an absolute pleasure to be here.
How many conferences do you get to start with a surf?
Over the next few days we’re here to celebrate the potential and the power, of surfing.
For Australians, it’s an important part of our culture, and history, including right where we swam this morning, at Greenmount Beach.
Back in 1903 when the railway opened from Brisbane to Tweed Heads, along with it came a new crop of daytrippers, all eager to swim and enjoy the beautiful coast.
Unfortunately, the bathers were largely unfamiliar with the water and the waves, and this resulted, tragically, in an increase in drownings.
Concerned, and feeling his cultural duty to protect the visitors on their Country, First Nations Elder Caomoi asked his son Churaki to watch over the bathers at Greenmount Beach.
And it was from here that Churaki – a Gudjingburra man of the Bundjalung Nation, performed the first documented act of surf lifesaving on the Gold Coast in 1911, when he rescued a man from drowning in a deep channel.
The hill from where he watched and protected swimmers became known as “Churaki Hill”.
And this morning, as we looked to this hill, we felt the spirit, protection and pride, of Joe Churaki, and a line of Saltwater People and their thousands of years connected to the water.
That’s the power of surfing.
It connects us to something bigger than ourselves.
Now, not just our history but also our environment.
We surfers know we need to do all we can to protect our blue ocean, and all the life contained within it.
And this conference asks us to respect, preserve, and protect our coastal environments, for surfers and beachgoers, and communities, now, and for the generations to come.
This is work that benefits everyone.
And I acknowledge your work already to find and protect surfing reserves around the world with more than 13 globally.
Three in Australia, and six in Latin America. Noting of course a seventh has been nominated for Mexico’s Puerto Escondido.
I also know the emphasis the surfing community places on respecting and protecting marine life, even when faced with tragedy.
In response to a number of shark attacks in my hometown, the NSW Government plans to increase funding for the 2025 and 2026 Shark Smart Program.
It’s about building public awareness, better using technology, and better first aid responses.
And more than anything else, it is about looking out for each other.
Because more than anything, surfing connects us as people.
Across the ocean, and continents, and cultures, whether it’s to countries in our own region, or looking further across the Pacific Ocean to our friends in Latin America.
Like this morning’s paddle out, where we were able to see Peruvian surfer and descendant of the Moche culture, Carlos "Huevito” launch the Caballito de Totora.
These ancestral Moche reed boats form part of Peru’s ancient surfing and fishing heritage and today, connected Peru’s pre-Hispanic surfing roots with modern surfing, and with Australia.
Carlos, thank you for once again sharing your culture.
I’m proud we supported this launch, through our Council of Australia Latin America Relations, which also supported sixteen delegates and surfers from across the countries of Latin America to join us here today.
People who are committed, like us, to coastal conservation and sustainable surf tourism in their part of the world. We can learn so much from each other by exchanging our experiences and expertise.
It’s part of the Council’s work, through seven grants this round, to strengthen our connections with the countries of Latin America: economically, politically, and socially.
And what is more social than being out on the water with a mate.
And speaking of new mates, I would like to introduce your next speaker, Tom Carroll.
He is a two-time, consecutive world champion with twenty-six victories over his 14 year career.
He’s an icon to Australia’s surfing community and throughout the world. Please welcome Tom Carroll.