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Safety Leadership push in Queensland

Expect quite a few OHS statements coming from Australian politicians as the country approaches Safe Work Australia Week in late October 2009. On 16 September 2009, the Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Cameron Dick, sought support for a “…groundbreaking new program to reduce workplace deaths and injuries.” Groundbreaking? Not sure. Perhaps for Queensland. According to his media statement the … Continue reading “Safety Leadership push in Queensland”

BHP Billiton’s safety record is again in the Australian media

BHP Billiton’s production report has generated some OHS-related interest in the Australian business media on 23 July 2009, but not all.  [SafetyAtWorkBlog has written several pieces about BHP Billiton‘s safety record] The company’s iron ore production has fallen short of its May 2009 guidance.  Iron ore is the only division where production has dropped.  The … Continue reading “BHP Billiton’s safety record is again in the Australian media”

Corporate manslaughter and accountability

Corporate manslaughter, or industrial manslaughter as it is referred to in Australia, was not allowed to gain traction in Australia, except for in the Australian Capital Territory. The policy has been allowed to fade from the books of most of the Australian left-wing parties but for a while, corporate manslaughter was THE issue.  In fact … Continue reading “Corporate manslaughter and accountability”

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”

Migrant worker safety

Recently one of the Australian boutique labour law firms ran a seminar on employment issues related to migrant workers.  Australia has a history of using workers from the Pacific Islands, principally, in agriculture.  Chinese have been working in Australia since the goldfields of the 1800s.  New Zealanders are so frequent that the countries almost share … Continue reading “Migrant worker safety”

Unacceptable levels of death at Australian mines

In The Australian on 28 August 2008 was an article about the Australian Workers Union wanting to strengthen its industrial presence in the mining communities of the Pilbara region.  Nothing surprising in that but the spur for this latest move was the death on 25 August of a 29-year-old worker in the Yandi mine workshop … Continue reading “Unacceptable levels of death at Australian mines”