‘No tolerance’: Watt puts sector on notice for safety after Brisbane tradie impalement

Federal Workplace Minister Murray Watt has put construction companies on notice after a man was impaled in the neck by rusty steel at the taxpayer-funded $300m Centenary Bridge worksite.

The site of Centenary Bridge duplication works. Picture David Clark

The gruesome impalement of a Brisbane tradie on site has prompted Australia’s workplace minister to put construction companies on notice, warning the scuttling of the CFMEU didn’t mean they could cut corners on safety.

Federal Workplace Minister Murray Watt warned there would be “absolutely no tolerance” for any company found to use the CFMEU’s administration period as a time to “weaken safety or cut wages”.

The tradie was impaled in the neck at the Centenary Bridge worksite.

A serious workplace incident at the taxpayer-funded $300m Centenary Bridge project has become a major test of promises from Labor politicians that the scuttling of the union wouldn’t put worker safety at risk.

A worker in his 30s was seriously injured on Tuesday afternoon after tripping on a hazard and becoming impaled on a rusty steel mesh at the Centenary Bridge worksite in Brisbane’s western suburbs.

Gruesome pictures of the incident, obtained by the Courier-Mail, shows the man’s neck pierced by a rod from the mesh. It’s understood his workmates had to cut part of the mesh off from a larger structure so he could be transported by paramedics.

Part of the worksite was shut on Wednesday as Workplace Health and Safety Queensland undertook investigations into the incident, though other areas operated as normal.

Senator Watt said the administrator of the CFMEU had made it clear “any breaches of Workplace Health and Safety will be pursued to the full extent of the law”.

“There will be absolutely no tolerance for any company who seeks to use this period of administration to try and weaken safety or cut wages,” Senator Watt said.

“Wages and conditions for construction workers have been hard won and they should not be weakened.”

The CFMEU’s construction arm across all jurisdictions, including Queensland, was forcibly put into administration by the federal government in August following allegations of bikie links, corruption and thuggery within the New South Wales and Victoria branches.

The Centenary Bridge worksite. Picture: David Clark

In a major signal CFMEU Queensland had not been muzzled, the union put out a scathing statement calling out principal contractor BMD for alleged safety issues and the use of unsafe building materials at the Centenary Bridge site.

“Our organisers have been called to site on numerous occasions due to a range of safety issues including fall from heights, contaminated drinking water, dangerous temporary fencing and BMD’s use of unsafe imported building materials,” CFMEU QLD workplace health and safety co-ordinator Kurt Pauls said.

“The Centenary Bridge Upgrade is funded by state and federal Labor governments. They should do the right thing by workers and stop awarding BMD major taxpayer-funded projects.”

A BMD spokeswoman said the Centenary Bridge project team was “primarily concerned with the welfare and safety of the individual involved in the incident and his family” at this time.

“Our focus is on working together with the Workplace Safety regulator and other stakeholders to assist with the investigation into the cause of the incident and provide continuing support to our employees and subcontractors,” she said.

A Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital spokeswoman confirmed the man was in a stable condition on Wednesday afternoon.

A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland spokesman said inquiries were ongoing.