Safety Interviews

A couple of weeks ago I conducted interviews with several speakers in the Safety In Action Conference to be held in Melbourne, Australia at the end of March 2009.  The finalised videos are below. Helen Marshall is Australia’s Federal Safety Commissioner who has a challenging job monitoring major government construction sites. Dr Martyn Newman is … Continue reading “Safety Interviews”

National OHS Review – initial comments

Several OHS colleagues on an international discussion forum have expressed some opinions on the final report of the Australia’s National Model OHS Law review. Safety Alerts One asked that better and more frequent safety alerts be published by the regulators and that those reports be based on fatalities, injuries and near misses.   There is … Continue reading “National OHS Review – initial comments”

Australia’s final report of OHS Model Law Review released

The final report of the review into Model OHS Law in Australia has been released.  As usual Deacons law firm is the first to provide an analysis of the major recommendations of the report. Over the next week there will be a flurry of activity from, particularly, the labour law firms but the rush is … Continue reading “Australia’s final report of OHS Model Law Review released”

Workplace bullying – interview with Lawrence Lorber (2002)

In April 2002, I interviewed Lawrence Lorber of US law firm Proskauer Rose on workplace bullying.  It was at the height of the Enron collapse and corporate behaviour towards staff was gaining a lot of attention.  Over the last fortnight I have been researching some of the management books and concepts concerning leadership, emotional intelligence, … Continue reading “Workplace bullying – interview with Lawrence Lorber (2002)”

Those at risk of exposure to asbestos

Over this last weekend, asbestos-safety advocates, ADSVIC, took advantage of the topicality of the navy’s poor management of asbestos by including half-page ads in major Australian newspapers.  The ads focused on the risks associated with DIY home renovators but law firm, Slater & Gordon, related their asbestos information sheet directly to the media attention about … Continue reading “Those at risk of exposure to asbestos”

OHS impact of the Fair Work Australia Bill

Over the next few weeks, many Australian law firms are running information seminars on the government’s Fair Work Bill.  This legislation will change the way that workplaces are managed, particularly in the area of personnel management. The overlap with OHS will come through the increasingly contentious issue of “union right of entry”.  Frequently unions request … Continue reading “OHS impact of the Fair Work Australia Bill”

Legal summary on OHS Review report from Mallesons

Mallesons is the next Australian OHS law firm to issue a statement on the first report by the National OHS Law Review panel.  The report is not much more than a summary, as commentary is kept to a minimum. What is interesting is that they mention the alternate sentencing options of  adverse publicity orders remedial … Continue reading “Legal summary on OHS Review report from Mallesons”