Gladstone owners found guilty
GARRY Harris has waited four years for someone to be held accountable for his son Damian's death in the 2006 Gladstone munitions explosion.
GARRY Harris has waited four years for someone to be held accountable for his son Damian's death in the 2006 Gladstone munitions explosion.
Yesterday, after the Industrial Court finally ruled the factory's owners could have prevented the fatal blast, Mr Harris found himself lost for words.
"We waited four years and we have now found out it was totally preventable," he said outside of court.
"What more can I say?"
Industrial Court Magistrate Michael Ardlie yesterday delivered his verdict, finding Quin Investments and its responsible officer Nikolai Kuzub guilty of two counts of workplace safety breaches.
The explosion at the factory near Gladstone, in the state's Mid North, killed Damian Harris, Matt Keeley and Darren Millington, and injured Cameron Edson and Damian John.
Mr Ardlie found the owners had failed in their obligation to ensure the safety of its employees.
The five workers were creating a pre-mix for cartridge explosives in a ribbon blending machine on the day of the explosion.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged a displaced shaft in the ribbon blender, or mixer, had created friction, triggering a chemical reaction inside the second-hand piece of machinery, causing the blast.
Mr Ardlie yesterday said either no records or inadequate records of critical machinery had been kept and machinery, including the ribbon blender which was in "disrepair" and "played a key role in the devastating event", had not been properly maintained in the years leading up to the blast.
"In particular the shaft and end plates of the ribbon blender had never been inspected during the long period of its operation at the factory," Mr Ardlie said.
Outside court, Grant Germein, for the defendants, said he was disappointed with the verdict.
He said the State Government had promised a "rigorous investigation", which had never been completed, and the verdict "did not tell us why the factory blew up".
"The Magistrate has simply accepted what we regard as nonsense theory," he said. He said he would consider appealing against the decision. Mr Ardlie will hear sentencing submissions in July.