Mackay Sugar charged over alleged health and safety breach at Palmyra

Workplace health and safety prosecutors have charged the country’s second largest sugar milling company over allegations it exposed workers to a risk of death or serious injury.

Mackay Sugar's Racecourse Mill, Ooralea. Picture: Kirili Lamb

Workplace health and safety prosecutors have charged Mackay Sugar over allegations it breached its duty of care, exposing workers to a risk of death or serious injury.

It is alleged the health and safety breach occurred between March 1, 2020 and September 2, 2021 at Palmyra and elsewhere.

Court documents viewed by this publication stated Mackay Sugar collects water quality samples from the area surrounding Racecourse Mill including effluent ponds on Abbotts Rd at Palmyra.

This involved operating a priming pump “to prime and obtain water samples via a larger main pump”, the documents stated.

“(The) operation of the priming pump was hazardous in that it posed a risk to the health and safety of the workers, namely the possibility of serious injury or death if part of a worker’s body became caught or entangled within the mechanisms of the priming pump,” the document states.

Mackay Sugar’s Racecourse Mill boasts a 38MW power station, installed in 2013, which uses bagasse to fire boilers and create high-pressure steam, which powers a turbine connected to a 66 kv link. Picture: Duncan Evans

WHS prosecutors have alleged Mackay Sugar could have eliminated or minimised the risk in two ways – installing guarding around dangerous parts of the machinery and/or developing and implementing a safe work procedure for the priming pumps use.

“(Mackay Sugar) failed to implement (these) in contravention of its duty,” the documents read.

“The failure exposed workers to a risk of death or serious injury.”

Mackay Sugar is Australia’s second largest sugar milling company with mills at Racecourse, Farleigh, Marian and Pleystowe.

Although the alleged offending period dates back two years, the charge was only laid in 2023 with the matter mentioned recently in Mackay Magistrates Court for the first time.

There was a joint request for the matter to be adjourned for a lengthy period.

The case will be mentioned again in December.

This publication contacted Mackay Sugar for comment. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment because the matter was before the courts.