It is less than a month to the state election in South Australia so policies are being released frequently. This week the South Australia Liberal Party released a WorkCover policy – 18 pages saying it will “fix Labor’s mess”. The policy is linked to through this blog article for several reasons. Many Australia States have … Continue reading “SA Liberal party policy on WorkCover”
Earlier in February 2010, the recently appointed leader of the conservative Opposition, Tony Abbott, said in Parliament that the Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett could have been charged with industrial manslaughter over the deaths of four insulation installers funded indirectly by the Government. It was all oratorical bluster with little legal credibility. However, it did … Continue reading “Industrial Manslaughter mentioned in Australia’s Parliament”
For some reason several Australian newspapers on 16 February 2010 carried articles about the possibility of prosecuting the Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, over recent deaths associated with an insulation rebate scheme, he launched and his Department administers. The employers are drawing a long bow to support their calls. They are linking several related OHS … Continue reading “Australian employer groups are out for blood”
Deputy Prime minister and Workplace Relations Minister, Julia Gillard, has told the Australian Financial Review (only available online to subscribers) that the OHS law changes were finalised at the recent Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council. Gillard again rejected the trade union movement’s concerns about weakened worker protection. The Minister emphasised that substantial economic benefits would flow to business as a … Continue reading “OHS debate is over, says Deputy PM”
At the moment Australian OHS professionals, lawyers and businesses are preparing submissions to the Government on the harmonisation of OHS laws. One of the areas that the Government is seeking advice on is penalties. The Discussion Paper asks the following Q17. Are the range and levels of penalties proposed above appropriate, taking account of the levels set for breaches … Continue reading “New approaches on OHS fines and penalties”
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”
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”