Wagga's Riverside redevelopment renews calls for defibrillator

Residents having been calling for the installation of a defibrillator and first-aid equipment at the beach since December, when a man nearly drowned in the Murrumbidgee River but was saved by off-duty nurses and doctors.

In the aftermath of the incident, The Daily Advertiser revealed that council had failed to complete its own water safety management plan for the river, two years after it was unanimously agreed to by councillors.

Council has since commissioned Royal Lifesaving NSW to undertake another safety audit of the beach, despite having completed only some of the recommendations in the initial report.

Council strategic asset planner Ben Creighton said council had been in discussion with Royal Lifesaving NSW regarding the safety audit and was in the process of finalising a report to be presented to councillors in July.

Wagga mayor Greg Conkey said "things have changed" at the beach since the initial report was handed down.

"I'm not uncomfortable with the fact we're having another report by experts," he said.

Cr Conkey said he was "in two minds" about the installation of water safety equipment, citing concerns about potential vandalism.

The Daily Advertiser asked council how many more people it expects to visit the Riverside precinct each year when the Stage 2 redevelopment is completed, and if it held safety concerns about the site, but didn't receive a response directly to these questions.

Former combat medic Rory McKenzie has accused council of "total negligence", saying he was disappointed that first-aid equipment hadn't been installed at the beach.

"If you're going to have a precinct there and bring people there you need to assess the risk and say you need to make it safer for the community," he said.

"How many reviews does the council need to do? You can ask for as many reviews as you want. If you're not going to action the reviews, what's the point?

"They could have just paid for a defibrillator. It's a waste of money."

Wagga resident Warren Tyson wants council to reconsider its plans for the Riverside Precinct entirely, because he fears the redevelopment will entice more inexperienced swimmers to the site.

"They're not taking people out of the river and putting them in safety. That's what concerns me. They've got the land here. It's a goldmine opportunity to set up a beautiful water park like there is in Cairns," he said.

He has pitched an alternative outdoor water park on the site of the Riverside redevelopment, that would use treated water from the river to create a safe swimming spot.

Mr Tyson, a long-time Murrumbidgee irrigator and inventor who created a river water turbine, said most people didn't understand the potential dangers of the Murrumbidgee River.

Council has said the Riverside Stage 2 project, which will integrate the former St Michael's Oval and the caravan park site into a large public recreation space with container food outlets and a "regionally significant" playground, is on track to be completed next year after an 18-month delay.