I noticed this press release today about the state government (excuse their political trumpeting) extending marine radio emergency monitoring along the whole of the Victorian Coastline. I always felt a little uncomfortable when coast guard would shut down for the day so this should be an improvement.

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/marine-ra ... goes-live/

The Andrews Labor Government is boosting safety for Victorian boaters by turning on Marine Radio Victoria – an emergency radio monitoring service that covers all of Victoria’s coastline for the first time.
Minister for Ports Luke Donnellan today welcomed the new service that operates all day, every day across Victorian waters, giving commercial and recreational boats a new lifeline in case of emergency.
The new service supports marine search and rescue operations by allowing emergency personnel to be dispatched with the assistance of Victoria Police.
Boaters in Victorian coastal waters will receive both local monitoring and recording of radio traffic on both VHF and HF emergency radio channels.
Coast Radio Melbourne had previously only covered Port Phillip Bay and Western Port, leaving distress call monitoring to volunteers along the rest of Victorian coastal waters.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Ports Luke Donnellan
“We take safety on our waters seriously, which is why we have set up Marine Radio Victoria.”
“The service will give Victorians outside of Port Phillip and Western a new lifeline if they’re in trouble on the water.”
Quotes attributable to Director of Transport Safety Victoria David Hourigan
“The Marine Radio Victoria service is a major step towards safer boating in Victoria. It means boaters will hear warnings and be heard when they raise the alarm.”
“Boaters need to remember that the key to being rescued is raising the alarm.”

Marine safety in Victorian coastal waters has received a major boost with the launch of Marine Radio Victoria, the new marine distress and emergency monitoring service.

Marine Radio Victoria (MRV) monitors and records radio traffic on VHF and HF emergency radio channels 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

“The MRV service is a major step towards safer boating in Victoria. It means boaters will hear warnings and be heard when they raise the alarm,” said Director of Transport Safety Victoria David Hourigan.

The new service supports marine search and rescue operations by enabling emergency personnel to be dispatched at the direction of Victoria Police.

“Boaters need to remember that the key to being rescued is raising the alarm,” Mr Hourigan said.

MRV covers the Victorian coastline, up to 20 nautical miles from the coast on the VHF emergency channels and out to 200 miles for the HF emergency frequencies. The service replaces Coast Radio Melbourne, the previous monitoring service that predominantly covered Port Phillip and Western Port bays.

MRV also provides radio checks and broadcasts weather forecasts and warnings.

TSV recommends that all boaters, including paddlers and kayak fishers, on the bays and along the coast have a VHF radio to take advantage of the benefits of MRV.

Marine Radio Victoria operates on:

VHF: Channels 16 and 67 for voice and 70 for Digital Selective Calling (DSC)
HF: 4125 kHz, 6215 kHz, 8291 kHz, 8176 kHz, 12290kHz