Lifeguards kick up over loss of the Aussie cossie

By KATHY MARKS

SYDNEY - Bondi Beach lifeguards are angry - so angry they want to kick up a financial sandstorm.

The focus of their ire are the makers of Speedo, the eponymous Aussie cossie, who are moving production to China.

Speedo began life as a Sydney family business in 1928 and became as linked to the Australian summer as Bondi Beach. For millions of ocean-worshipping Australians, only one brand of swimwear will do.

But Bondi is the site of a backlash against a decision by Speedo to close its last Australian factory.

The lifeguards who patrol the iconic stretch of sand are so incensed by the company's move that they are threatening to break a five-year sponsorship agreement.

Speedo, which was taken over by a British sports and leisurewear firm, Pentland, in 1991, has always had a close association with Australian beach culture and with the bronzed men and women of the lifesaving movement.

In the 1920s, it made the lifesavers' uniform, then an impractical neck-to-knee woollen garment. In 1957, it unveiled its first nylon costume, developed in conjunction with Dawn Fraser, the former Australian Olympic swimmer.

More recently, Speedo invented the "sharkskin" bodysuits that received so much attention at last year's Sydney Olympic Games.

The $349 million sponsorship deal allows Speedo to display its logo against the unrivalled backdrop of Bondi Beach in exchange for supplying the lifeguards with clothing and equipment.

But Paul Pearce, the mayor of Waverley Council, which administers Bondi, believes that the symbolism is no longer appropriate. "It seemed like a very natural arrangement, but it was predicated on the fact that we were dealing with a company with an Australian background," he said.

"Bondi is recognised worldwide as an Australian setting, but they are not using Australian workers to make up their goods. I find it very distasteful that they are using Bondi to promote their product, and then clearing off and producing offshore."

Many people agree. Generations of Australians grew up with Speedo and still regard it as quintessentially Australian.

In common parlance, you "grab your Speedos and head down the beach." Talkback radio has been flooded with callers indignant about the firm's decision to abandon its roots.

While Waverley seeks legal advice on severing the sponsorship agreement, the lifeguards are considering instigating their own boycott.

John Andrews, secretary of the Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association, says that many members are upset.

"We expect there to be a motion asking the association to support members who are asked to wear Speedo but who conscientiously object to the product," he said.

The Speedo brand is produced under licence around the world and sold in 120 countries.

The decision to close the Windsor factory was made by Pentland executives in Britain, according to David Tritton, industrial officer with the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union. "I don't think they understand the empathy that people here have with this particular product," he said.

"This is the last gasp of the Aussie cossie. It's not Aussie any more."

- INDEPENDENT