Canberra resists push on workplace fatality laws

The Morrison government has refused to back a national system of uniform industrial manslaughter laws.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: AAP

The Morrison government has refused to back a national system of uniform industrial manslaughter laws, claiming it was unrealistic to suggest the move would address workplace deaths.

Just days after the ALP national conference backed a union push to develop a nationally consistent industrial manslaughter offence, the government yesterday responded to a Senate committee report that made a similar recommendation.

The committee recommended Safe Work Australia work with commonwealth, state and territory governments to introduce a nationally consistent industrial manslaughter offence. It recommended using existing Queensland laws as a starting point.

In its formal response, the govern­ment said it was concerned the recommendation “will not ­address the underlying issues identified by families impacted by workplace fatalities”.

“A separate industrial manslaughter offence in the model WHS laws is unlikely to achieve justice for families who have lost a loved one in the workplace,” the government said.

“While justice is seen to be available under laws that apply tough penalties to the death of a worker, justice is unlikely to be achieved where, based on the evidence presented to the inquiry, enforcement of laws is an issue.

“To suggest the introduction of an industrial manslaughter ­offence is the solution to the issue of workplace deaths would create an unrealistic expectation.”

The government said it believed a more effective approach would be to focus on enforcement of existing laws, particularly the way in which investigations into workplace deaths were conducted: “The government’s view is that the current offences in the model WHS laws, together with current criminal manslaughter laws, are able to address workplace deaths provided they are applied appropriately.

“Where there has been a workplace death, all of those respons­ible can be prosecuted under the existing offences ­regime and the general criminal manslaughter provisions.”