Fears mine death offence will become a lawyers’ picnic
A new criminal offence of industrial manslaughter in Queensland mines could prompt companies to call lawyers first.
A new criminal offence of industrial manslaughter in Queensland mines could prompt resources companies to call lawyers before a killed worker’s family, the resources lobby has warned.
Queensland’s Labor government has promised to introduce a separate offence for industrial manslaughter in the resources sector, after six mine and quarry workers died in 12 months. At mining safety crisis talks at parliament house last month, Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said he would update the industry on progress towards the planned reform at a Gold Coast conference next weekend.
But Dr Lynham acknowledged fulfilling that commitment will be “complex” and “difficult” given Queensland already had tough safety legislation for mines.
“There are significant penalties now, so to add something like industrial manslaughter on to a base that is so tough, that does have jail sentences now for operators … it is difficult,” Dr Lynham said.
While mining union the CFMEU has strongly lobbied the government to introduce the new offence, Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the mining lobby had significant reservations.
“We would want to see that this was actually going to improve safety, that it isn’t going to just be a lawyers’ feast,” Mr Macfarlane said. “That (it isn’t) going to be negative in the sense that instead of calling — the person who has had an accident — instead of calling his or her closest relative, the companies are forced into a situation where they have to call lawyers first. That would have the potential to also stop information sharing between companies on the basis that companies, when an accident occurs, may not share any information on the basis that it may prejudice them, in a future criminal investigation.
“We’ve got reservations on the basis that we’re not sure if it’s going to improve safety, we’re not sure how it’ll be integrated into the existing legislation, and we’ve got reservations on the basis that it may make safety worse, not better … because there’ll be less information sharing and less people willing to take responsibility for safety in mines,” Mr Macfarlane said.
The proposed offence could send a mine’s site senior executive to jail for industrial manslaughter, a possibility Mr Macfarlane said would make it even more difficult to recruit people for that specialised position. But CFMEU mining and energy Queensland district president Stephen Smyth said the union was going to keep “pushing hard” for the offence to be introduced.
“QRC and the industry might be dragging the chain,” Mr Smyth said.
Dr Lynham has asked two mining health and safety committees — which represent the industry, unions, government regulators and mines inspectors — to meet again this month to tell him how industrial manslaughter could be integrated into existing legislation. “I’m very hopeful this (industrial manslaughter introduction) would happen during this term of government,” he said. “We’ll see how it runs.”