A couple more election campaign publications and statements have appeared in relation to occupational health and safety (OHS), one by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) and another in response to some advertising by the Construction Forestry Mining Maritime and Energy Union (CFMEU) released by the Master Builders Australia (MBA). Institute of Public Affairs There …
The impending election in Australia has started to generate various position statements and discussion papers from various lobbyists. The Australian Industry Group (AiGroup) and the Business Council of Australia (BCA) are the latest of these. The AiGroup released its Productive and Fair Workplace Relations statement in late March 2019. Surprisingly there is no mention of …
As the dominance of neoliberalism weakens around the world, people are fearful of what comes next. In some sectors, that fear includes occupational health and safety (OHS). OHS is a business cost, in the same way as every other cost of running a business, but it is often seen as an interloper, a fun-sucker, a …
Applying the most effective way to have companies comply with their occupational health and safety (OHS) obligations has been debated in Australia and elsewhere for years. The issue will arise again in 2019 and in relation Industrial Manslaughter laws as Australian States have elections, or the political climate suits. There are several elements to the …
The consensus at the Australian Labor Party’s National conference is that party leader, Bill Shorten, made an impressive and detailed speech on Day One and that he has followed this up with an important speech about migration and other matters on Day Two. He, and the conference, has been described as “presidential” (in a non-Trump …
This article is part one of an edited version of a keynote presentation I made at the a special WHS Inspectors Forum organised by WorkSafe Tasmania. The audience comprised inspectors from around Australia and New Zealand. I was asked to be provocative and challenging so posed some questions to the audience about how occupational health …
On the corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets in Melbourne is a monument to the 8 Hour Day. This represents a social structure of work that equates to Eight hours of work, Eight hours of recreation, Eight hours of sleep, The concept started in Australia in the mid-1800s and was intended to reduce exploitation and …