Category: politics

The Quad Bike Death That Could Have Happened Any Year

Earlier this month, I was critical of occupational health and safety (OHS) and farmers and asked

“So what can WorkSafe teach them about safety that farmers don’t already know?”

The death of dairy farmer Brad Collins following an incident involving a quad bike is the type of death that could have occurred and been reported at any time over the last few decades. Surely, a change in the cultures of farming, safety, and enforcement is required? Are we at “peak safety” on the deaths of farmers from quad bikes? Can nothing more be done?

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Haggling for Haggling’s Sake and Sacrificing the Ambit

What does occupational health and safety (OHS) have to do with Industrial Relations? It depends on who you ask. I think it is integral, but many, such as the trade union movement, seem to call on OHS only when needed, and then in the shallowest of ways.

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Stop Blaming Workers for Problems They Didn’t Create

Australian occupational health and safety (OHS) is moving from a focus on interventions at the individual worker level to examination of the operational and managerial systems that may cause or encourage harm and incidents, especially in relation to psychological safety at work.

Although a new book from the United States does not address OHS specifically, its long title indicates its relevance – “It’s On You – How the Rich and Powerful Have Convinced Us That We’re to Blame for Society’s Deepest Problems”.

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“She simply had too much work to do” – WorkSafe Awards 2025

Psychological safety dominated the 2025 WorkSafe Victoria Awards held in late February 2026. (At somepoint, WorkSafe is going to have to bring the awards back to the Safety Month schedule of October) This is perhaps not surprising, as psychological safety and psychosocial hazards remain hot issues in Victoria, but some other important finalists shone.

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The Work‑From‑Home Debate Needs Less Theatre and More OHS

A recent radio forum on working from home reinforced the political motivation behind promoting it as a legal right and also highlighted the knowledge gaps we have about it. Occupational health and safety (OHS) was mentioned in the discussion, but its core significance was again downplayed.

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What the new push for Australian values means for work

Every company seems to have a Mission Statement, a Values Statement, or something similar that all employees are expected to follow and comply with. Largely, these are aspirational statements, but they are sometimes invoked when/if an employee needs to be disciplined or dismissed. The values are often vague and lend themselves to various interpretations, even though compliance is expected and is usually part of the employment contract.

At the moment, some conservative politicians, such as Angus Taylor, are emphasising the need for citizens and immigrants to commit to and comply with “Australian values”. How he plans to enforce them is unclear, but most of his proposed values have direct impacts on how occupational health and safety (OHS) is likely to be managed.

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Queensland’s Burnout Problem Is Political Not Clinical

Queensland doctors face an increased risk of burnout, but details have not been shared.

Several Australian media outlets reported on some survey results provided by Queensland Health, such as:

““One of the key results was that 49 per cent of clinicians surveyed met the threshold for risk of burnout, with burnout risk higher in rural and regional areas compared to metro areas.”

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