The grieving parents of Mitchell Irvine, the 15-year-old tragically killed in a jet ski accident in Sydney’s south, have spoken out for the first time, urging for a significant overhaul of water safety regulations.

On the fateful evening of July 22, Mitchell and his 14-year-old friend were thrown from their jet ski while navigating the Georges River. The incident resulted in Mitchell’s untimely death, while his friend, though surviving, endured the loss of an arm. Thankfully, quick actions by first responders helped save his life.

Both friends were seasoned riders and had taken the precaution of wearing lifejackets when the accident occurred. Despite their experience and safety measures, tragedy struck, highlighting potential gaps in water safety laws.

Andrea and Neil Irvine, Mitchell’s devastated parents, are now channeling their grief into advocacy, seeking fundamental changes that could prevent other families from experiencing similar heartache.

Mitchell’s parents, Andrea and Neil Irvine, were left heartbroken and are grappling with their thoughts.

“I dropped him off at like 4pm, and then I said, ‘Pick you up at 7pm’. And then he was, that was it,” Ms Irvine said.

“I just keep thinking about, we just weren’t there in his last moments to help him when he needed us, we just weren’t there.”

Mr Irvine added: “Most of us are like cats. We do get more than one chance in life. How could the kid like that only get like one chance, but multiple things go wrong on that one night?”

Every day, the pair make the 20-minute drive to Sylvania, where Mitchell spent his last moments. 

“He loved to travel. He’d recently started working at Macca’s. He loved anything from nippers to boxing to footy,” Ms Irvine said.

“But he still took his teddy bears to bed, you know, he was still our baby.”

They believe his death could have been prevented if stricter water safety laws were in place.

“I think if they fix the age that people can actually drive a jet ski, which is currently 12, that will fix a number of problems,” Mr Irvine said.

The Irvines want to see the age for personal watercraft licences lifted to 16 and high buoyancy lifejackets become mandatory.

Roads and Regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison said the Minns government will be reviewing both in the wake of the tragedy.

She will meet with the Irvines next week.

“We want to make sure, as a government, that we’re pulling every single lever at our disposal in order to save lives,” she said.

With an increase in both the size and number of these watercraft on our waters, the Irvines say there is no time to wait.

“You’ve got an opportunity to do something, do it. Look after our children, protect our future and make some change,” Mr Irvine said.