Industrial manslaughter laws to be introduced in the NT

INDUSTRIAL manslaughter laws will be introduced to parliament next week. The NT News can reveal should the laws be passed, industrial manslaughter will be an offence in the Territory by the end of the year

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INDUSTRIAL manslaughter laws will be introduced to parliament next week.

The NT News can reveal should the laws be passed, industrial manslaughter will be an offence in the Territory by the end of the year.

This offence will ensure all businesses, regardless of the business size, face the same level of penalty if reckless or negligent conduct has caused a workplace fatality.

The laws follow three workplace deaths this year, including Craig Butler who was killed last month when he was buried alive by a wall collapse at the Bootu Creek Mine, Derick Suratin who was electrocuted while working on the Tennant Creek Fire Station, and Dwayne Beaumont who was crushed when an excavator bucket dislodged and struck him.

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The laws will not be applied retrospectively. Once enacted, the Territory joins QLD and the ACT as the only jurisdictions to have an industrial manslaughter offence.

Currently, only individuals can be charged with manslaughter for a workplace fatality under the NT’s Criminal Code. This means an individual operating a small business as a sole trader can face a maximum penalty of life in prison, however there is no equivalent penalty for a body corporate.

The maximum penalty for an individual is imprisonment for life whether the individual is prosecuted under the existing or new manslaughter offence. Attorney-General Natasha Fyles said Territory workers had the “right to go to work and return home safely”.

“The rates of deaths and injuries at Territory worksites have been too high for too long,” she said.

“These laws will help protect Territorians at their place of work, and mean employers are on notice about unsafe practices and sites.”

Unions NT general secretary Joel Bowden said unions were pleased the industrial manslaughter laws would be introduced, but was disappointed it took three fatalities in one year to speed up the process.

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“We’re really pleased that the Government is, in some respects, expediating the process and if we can have legislation passed by the end of 2019, then we would hope there may be a change in behavior and a shift in paactices that sees the NT workplaces become safer,” he said.

“We hope these laws will bring safety into sharp focus for all business, all companies and all workers, and that profits aren’t put before safety.”

The introduction of the laws is a key recommendation from the Lyons review.