The personal cost of surviving a major hazard explosion

As one gets older, the “where are they now?” columns in the newspapers or the summer magazine supplements become more interesting.  The articles of faded pop stars and political one-time wonders are diverting but every so often one makes you stop and think. OHS is not renowned for “where are they nows?”.  The discipline and the profession has few celebrities but there are … Continue reading “The personal cost of surviving a major hazard explosion”

Restorative Justice and workplace fatalities – Part 1

The city in which SafetyAtWorkBlog is edited, Melbourne, is struggling to manage a spate of street violence – some racially-based, a lot influenced by alcohol and drugs.  The Age newspaper carried a feature article on 25 August 2009 discussing the concept of “restorative justice”, a concept that is barely known outside of some legal or … Continue reading “Restorative Justice and workplace fatalities – Part 1”

Why isn’t safety and health a continuum in a worker’s life?

Several years ago I attended a safety seminar hosted by Seacare.  Maritime safety is not part of my “brief” but safety is, and I was seeking alternate perspectives on my specialist area.  Seacare conducted a session where the treatment and management of an injured worker was work-shopped from incident to return-to-work. It was the first time … Continue reading “Why isn’t safety and health a continuum in a worker’s life?”

Aspirational targets are next to useless put politically expedient

Further to the recent blog article on New South Wales WorkCover statistics,  SafetyAtWorkBlog has been provided with a copy of the official Comparative Performance Monitoring (CPM) report that was released in August 2008.  These figures are used to measure performance against the National OHS Strategy 2002-2012. SafeWorkAustralia has told SafetyAtWorkBlog that the next edition is due … Continue reading “Aspirational targets are next to useless put politically expedient”

Australian Minister’s latest comments on OHS law reform

Last week the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, spoke at the ACTU Congress for 2009.  Industrial relations was clearly the principal agenda issue but Gillard did mention OHS.  The relevant OHS text of her speech is below. For those wishing more information about her rowdy reception, coverage is available at several Australian news sites. The … Continue reading “Australian Minister’s latest comments on OHS law reform”

The new generation of foolhardy reporters

In 1975 five Australian reporters were killed while covering the armed dispute between the Indonesian military and, what used to be called “freedom fighters”, the Fretilin in East Timor.  An indication of how circumstances can change is that José Ramos Horta, the current President of East Timor was a founder and former member of Fretilin, the … Continue reading “The new generation of foolhardy reporters”