David Cameron, the leader of England’s Conservative Party, has spoken about the health and safety culture that he says is restricting personal and business options in England. In the full speech, Cameron clearly outlines an ideological agenda but it is a mistake to see this as an attack on the OHS regulator. Below is an … Continue reading “Tory leader calls for a “forensic examination” of health and safety culture”
Several weeks ago, I took my family to the filming of a TV program. As with most of this things there is a person who “warms up” the audience and which seems to involve the throwing of lots of lollies and sweets. (If only weddings used sweets instead of bouquets there might be more takers) … Continue reading “The OHS “fun vampires” hit the theatre”
On November 25 2009, NPR’s show Talk of the Nation conducted some discussions with truckers on their safety needs for the first part of the program. (Audio is available HERE) The emphasis was on the conduct of drivers in vehicles and trucks but there is some discussion on the VORAD forward radar system applied to … Continue reading “Truck safety talkback”
The public submission period for commenting on the Australia’s OHS model laws has closed and the submissions are gradually being made available on the Safe Work Australia website. At the time of writing there are around 15 submissions listed and Safe Work Australia has indicated that there are many more that are being sifted through at the moment. Each … Continue reading “Australia’s employers’ thoughts on OHS law”
In the Australian Financial Review in October 2009 there was an opinion piece (not available online) from the CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), John Colvin, expressing concerns about the accountability of directors under legislation including the proposed OHS laws in Australia. According to a report by Adam Schwab in the Crikey newsletter of 23 October 2009 (also … Continue reading “Nice comparison on Directors’ complaints”
The Australian Greens Senator Ludlam is not resting on his “wins” against the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation. On 22 October 2009, Ludlam issued a media statement. Some quotes are below: “If ANSTO believes its record is clean, it should make public the incident reports rather than waiting for the issues to be raised … Continue reading “Greens keep fighting ANSTO on nuclear safety”
Rob Oakenshott is an independent politician in the New South Wales parliament, He was formerly a representative of the National Party. Oakenshott is one of the first Australian politicians who are not directly involved in the program of OHS law harmonisation to raise any concerns. What spurred him to speak was a recent case in the High Court of Australia centring around … Continue reading “Independent Aussie politician forecasts “near riots” on OHS”