A bizarre photo of lifeguards watching tradies at work over the Yarra River in the heart of Melbourne has sparked controversy.
The image showed two lifeguards on patrol as tradies on scaffolding completed repairs to the city's Princes Bridge, at Flinders Street Station.
A 3AW listener shared the photo on station Breakfast with Ross and Russell, stunned by the appearance of professional lifeguards at a construction site.
'Look, when I saw that I thought it was a backdrop for an advertisement. Like an advertisement from the Canadian club,” said Russell Howcroft.
The station later confirmed that the lifeguards had been hired legitimately.
The men in red and yellow were deployed with WorkSafe approved safety measures in case any of the workers fell into the river.
Life Saving Victoria hires out its lifeguards in various environments and applications.
Many listeners joked about the measure, while others thought it was justified because of the dangers of working above water on scaffolding.
A Melburnian took a funny photo of two lifeguards watching tradies at work on the Princes Bridge
Lifeguards have been spotted around the Yarra Bridge as restoration work is underway
“It's actually a good idea and part of the rescue plan,” one person wrote online.
'Working above water jetties is dangerous and can lead to death. These people who criticize high-risk work and rescue plans should try it for themselves to find out how dangerous it is.”
Many traditions said that overwater scaffolding is often not as safe as workers or liability companies would like, and that in some cases the harnesses can be useless or worsen an accident.
'I'm not sure any of you understand that there are safety plans for working at height with a harness; if it was on land there would be a (raised work platform) just in case,” wrote another on X.
'It's called health and safety and it makes perfect sense. Should be a mandatory requirement for any workplace where workers in hazardous industries have to work over large bodies of water like this,” another agreed.
“Thank goodness, but they better be damn capable when duty calls.”
Others found the move excessive and unnecessarily costly.
“A safety net would be cheaper,” said one.
Many said the lifeguards played an important role, while others feared their money would be lost
“It looks like bad performance art,” another agreed.
'This is nice work. I'd bring six-packs of beer… and music. Done for today,” a third joked.
The Prinsenbrug restoration project has been underway since the end of 2023 and the work is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Weathered bluestone blocks will need to be replaced, while others will need to be realigned.
The work on the iron facade includes repairs and a new coat of paint.
