NSW, including about 700 women. Justice Action has lobbied for visits to resume. Co-ordinator Brett Collins said the government's decision was short-sighted cost cutting that was hard-hearted and unChristian. "If dad isn't there, and he misses out on Christmas, he becomes estranged from the family," he said. Even when visitors were allowed, Ms Armstrong recalls dramatic scenes where families were denied access after travelling from across the state because they were 10 minutes late. ''If they thought their children were coming, and then they didn't end up coming, women would end up in segregation because they would lose the plot,'' she said. It was so traumatic that she often told her mother not to bring her daughter, Phoebe, from whom she was estranged for more than seven years.During the first Christmas visit, Phoebe, then a toddler, sat in Ms Armstrong's lap for more than two hours with her arms around her mother's neck.

''When it came time to go, she was screaming and didn't want to leave. There was an emotional tug of war trying to drag Phoebe off my neck. And that was happening all around me.'' Julie Power The Beach Christmas Sacrificing family time to save lives

On duty: Bruce Hopkins will work this Christmas. Photo: Nick Moir



The memory of a sea of Santa hats bobbing up and down on Bondi's waves - some attached to their often-drunk owners - now seems amusing to Bondi's head lifeguard. Bruce Hopkins, who has worked every Christmas for 22 years, said Christmas at the beach before alcohol was