On 10 June 2016, the New South Wales Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Victor Dominello announced a $A2 million rebate program to improve safety associated with the use of quad bikes on farms. According the media release (curiously released late on the eve of a national long weekend): “The NSW Government will be offering rebates … Continue reading “NSW Gov’t announces first quad bike safety rebate program”
Dr Tony Lower, Director of the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety has released his review of farm safety incident statistics for 2015. According to a media release (not yet online), Dr Lower found “…there were 69 on‐farm injury deaths. The main causes continued to be quads, accounting for 15 cases (22%), with two of these involving … Continue reading “Stats show quadbikes remain the leading cause of deaths on Australian farms”
Several years ago, WorkSafe Victoria published “Dairy Safety: A Practical Guide“* A decade on Dairy Australia has published its career guidance “Stepping Stones” which seems to imply that not all employers and workers have a legislative responsibility to work safely and without harming others. It is a legislative truism that “safety is everyone’s responsibility” and … Continue reading “Inconsistency on OHS roles in dairy careers guide”
On 17 August 2014, RadioLiveNZ‘s Mark Sainsbury devoted an hour to discussing workplace health and safety. Given New Zealand has undergone a remarkable change on its occupational health and safety (OHS) strategy since the Pike River disaster, with the restructuring of its regulations and regulator into WorkSafeNZ, the various interviews are worth listening to. This series of … Continue reading “One hour of OHS discussion on New Zealand radio”
The leadership squabbles in the Australian Labor Party (ALP) have diminished for the moment, and the next Federal election is set for September 2013. Most everyone is tipping the ALP to lose the election. The verb “lose” is specifically chosen, for the opposition Liberal/National coalition will probably win “by default”. Whatever the electoral outcomes, the major political parties … Continue reading “An OHS look at the Australian Labor Party’s National Platform”
Dr Tony Lower of the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health & Safety (AgHealth) has released a farm safety research report of curiosity more than influence. The report, Farm Related Injuries Reported in the Australian Print Media 2011, makes use of the media monitoring services that the centre has been using for over five years. The accompanying media release, not yet available online, summarises some basic findings: “According to the … Continue reading “New research on quad bike safety remains academic in a climate of uncertain OHS reform”
Dr Tony Lower has written an opinion piece in the December 2011 edition of the Medical Journal of Australia (not available without a subscription however a related media release is) about farm safety. One statistic he quotes says: “In tractors, rollover fatalities have decreased by 60% after the introduction of regulations requiring compulsory rollover protection structures.” The … Continue reading “New OHS laws could change the management of quad bikes”