Search Results for: insulation

Sorting by relevance. Sort by date.

Unionists express anger at Australia’s approach to OHS on Workers’ Memorial Day

Some days, politics should be kept in the background.  Increasingly the International Day of Mourning is being used as a political platform, principally by the union movement.  But this is discomforting and a little like anti-war protests during ANZAC Day, as happened several decades ago. International Day of Mourning, or Workers’ Memorial Day, as it … Continue reading “Unionists express anger at Australia’s approach to OHS on Workers’ Memorial Day”

Too big to be held accountable?

Paul Howes, national secretary of the Australian Workers union has issued a media statement in support of the International Day of Mourning in which he says the Government is scared of BHP Billiton. “Politicians – of all political shades – are just too scared to stand up to BHP-Billiton and tell them that in a safe work … Continue reading “Too big to be held accountable?”

“For the government, safety has always been the number one priority” – Really?

On 27 April 2010, less than 24 hours after a highly critical television program was broadcast about his government’s mismanagement of its insulation rebate scheme, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to the families of the men who died while installing roof insulation. “Certainly, when it comes to the Fuller family, I, together with other ministers of the government, are … Continue reading ““For the government, safety has always been the number one priority” – Really?”

Government can do much better on level crossing safety

The Victorian Government is likely to say the Auditor-General’s report into “Management of Safety Risks at Level Crossings“, released on 24 March 2010, supports the government’s initiatives.  This is true but the report says much more than just describing the State Government’s efforts as “satisfactory”.  (If my child’s report card said satisfactory, I would be talking to the teacher about … Continue reading “Government can do much better on level crossing safety”

SafetyAtWorkBlog, Standards and advertising

This weekend in a SafetyAtWorkBlog comment, Simon Berglund posted a commercial link to an Australian Standard on the installation of insulation.  In his comment he did not reveal his commercial interest in posting the comment and I apologise for allowing it to be posted. Simon Berglund  is the “Director, Sales & Marketing – Information Services (Asia Pacific) at SAI Global” and I was not aware … Continue reading “SafetyAtWorkBlog, Standards and advertising”

Another go at homeowners being exposed to workplace prosecutions

In October 2009, Australian lawyer, Michael Tooma gained considerable media coverage by stating that under the model Work Health and Safety Act: “..if I call out a tradesperson to do some work at my home, my home is their workplace and I would be a person at their workplace.  As such, I would have a duty to … Continue reading “Another go at homeowners being exposed to workplace prosecutions”

Non-mainstream media acknowledges the realities of workplace fatalities

Bernard Keane writing in online newsletter, Crikey, is one of the few who has reported on the Australian Government’s insulation scheme debacle and kept the fact of worker deaths as more than just a moral sideline to the issue. On 3 March 2010, Keane wrote a very good article which draws on the political and media … Continue reading “Non-mainstream media acknowledges the realities of workplace fatalities”