WA industry calls for better safety through reform

CME said that calls for yet another inquiry into mine safety following the tragedy are premature and will do little to improve minesite safety.
“The government has commissioned five reports into mine safety matters in this state over the last seven years,” according to CME chief executive Reg Howard-Smith.
“Most of these inquiries have recommended a move away from the current regime towards a risk-based regulatory model – something the chamber strongly endorses.
“Now is the time to act.”
CME welcomed a renewed commitment from Mines Minister Norman Moore to push ahead with major reform of mine safety in WA, including a new approach to safety management based on evidence and risk.
“We’d urge the State Government to fast-track the development of this model, through ongoing consultation with industry stakeholders,” Howard-Smith said.
“Mine safety is everyone’s concern, and legislative reform is long overdue.”
Mr Howard-Smith said proposed changes must move beyond a simple exercise in cost recovery.
The CME comments followed a statement from WA Labor Leader Eric Ripper which called for the establishment of a Royal Commission into mine safety in WA.
Ripper said this latest tragedy has highlighted the need for a complete cultural change to prevent work-related fatalities and serious injuries.
“Countless reviews and inquiries into mine safety have not had the intended result to improve overall safety,” he said.
“Working in the resource sector is still a risky business for workers and a Royal Commission is the only way forward to show what is really happening in WA’s resource sector.”
Ripper said the great tragedy of the North Sea Piper Alpha explosion and the subsequent Royal Commission overhauled the oil and gas sector.
“This is a whole of community responsibility and a Royal Commission can provide an environment free of intimidation for witnesses and uncover problems within the sector and the inspectorate.
“In 2010 it is everybody’s right to come home from work alive and uninjured. As a community we cannot accept that fatality and injury are all part of working, it has to stop.”
Ripper said the Barnett Government was still yet to publicly release the mine safety review following the tragic death of a worker last year.
“The Barnett Government also has a responsibility to increase the number of mine safety inspectors,” Ripper said.
“Mines Minister Norman Moore must ensure the inspectorate is adequately funded so all the required safeguards are in place.”