It's summer and many of us are heading to the beach for a swim, but far too often this simple act of pleasure results in tragedy. Last year there was a horrific drowning toll on our beaches over the Christmas holiday period and unfortunately it seems to be happening again.

This weekend a 14-year-old boy and a 49-year-old woman drowned in rip currents on NSW beaches. In the past two weeks, an 11-year-old boy from Canberra, a 15-year-old girl visiting from India and a 21-year-old male from Brisbane drowned in rip currents in Australian surf. There have been several other close calls. However, while these stories received some basic media coverage, I've yet to see any stories devoted to why people keep drowning in rips and what we can do to stop these drownings from happening. But they keep happening again and again and again. It just doesn't make any sense.

Can you imagine the response if five people had been killed by sharks over the same period? No doubt the ensuing outcry would result in even more debate and financial resources invested in a problem that typically results in only one human fatality each year in Australia.

Yet every year approximately 20 people, probably more, drown in strong, narrow, seaward flowing rip currents that are ubiquitous on our beaches. The trauma experienced by victims' families and all those involved in these drownings is extreme and no different to fatal shark attacks. Yet millions of dollars have been devoted to the shark problem.