04:35 pm, Friday 10 May, 2013

Photo: SafetyCulture Library

Tasmanian firefighters will now be given better access to medical support and compensation as the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fire-fighters) Bill 2013 has been introduced in the Tasmanian Parliament last week by Minister for Workplace Relations, David James O’Byrne.

Firies in Tasmania need not prove a significant connection betweek their work and certain cancers under these proposed changes to compensation laws.

According to a report from The Mercury, the new law will apply to volunteer and career firefighters. Even those who have retired will be covered for 10 years after the last fire incident they attended.

Firefighters diagnosed with cancer will only have to meet the legislated qualifying employment periods and incident exposures to qualify for compensation.

The cancers include primary site brain, bladder, kidney, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, leukemia, breast, testicular, myeloma, prostate, ureter, colorectal, and oesophageal.

United Firefighters Union national secretaty Peter Marshall said similar legislations have helped sick firefighters in other countries like Canada and the United States.

“In Australia, the federal legislation was passed after a thorough Senate inquiry examined the links between firefighters and cancer and was unanimously supported by all political parties,” said Mr Marshall.

“Today is a breakthrough and firefighters sincerely appreciate this initiative by the Tasmanian Government.”

“They head into danger as others flee – but the effect of prolonged exposure to carcinogens, toxins and other chemicals can cost their health,” he said.

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06:35 pm, Wednesday 8 May, 2013

An official from the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) has called for the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN) to be stopped until the issues with asbestos are resolved.

David Mier from CEPU has said that about 85% of the contractors that are working in pits with asbestos have not undergone the necessary safety training.

Comcare has said that it is investigating a number of issues that have been raised in relation to the NBN pits.

Mr Mier said that around 60 workers that were located at the 13 worksites that he visited across Tasmania had not been given appropriate asbestos awareness training.

He said that members of the public need to feel confident that the workers removing asbestos pits in front of their homes are qualified to do it safely.

Mr Mier said that the issues arise from cost cutting by one of the employers and the outcome is that a number of worksites are dangerously exposed because of this lack of training.

A Comcare spokesperson said that action has already been taken at some of the NBN sites and are working closely with the employers involved to improve the systems currently being used and this include the delivery of asbestos awareness training.

NBN Co said that they are waiting for specific details so they can confirm whether their sites are involved.

They said that all contractors and construction staff must complete an approved safety course that had asbestos awareness included as a part of it.

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01:42 pm, Saturday 23 March, 2013

Tasmania has a high rate of quad bike deaths per capita according to the recently released figures from Safe Work Australia.

The report shows that four out of the twenty-two ATV deaths nationally that occurred since January 2012 were Tasmanians in the north part of the state.

The fatalities included:

- A 67-year-old male whose bike rolled during work;

- A 63-year-old female whose bike was involved in a collision during work;

- A 47-year-old male whose bike rolled during a recreational ride;

- A 23-year old male whose bike hit a washout on the beach.

Over the past 14 months the quad bike deaths that occurred in Tasmania were third behind Queensland (7) and NSW (5).

According to statistics from the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety (ACAHS) more than 150 have died in the country because of quad bike accidents since 2001.

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04:46 pm, Tuesday 29 January, 2013

Emergency crews were called to the site of the Hobart tip in McRobie’s Gully in South Hobart about 10.45 this morning.

A 32-year-old man had been at the location of the tip’s new waste transfer station pile driving when he left the excavator to guide a steel beam into a hole.

The beam had swung uncontrollably in the air and had hit the worker in the head. It then dislodged from the excavator and rolled onto his chest.

Colleagues administered first aid to the man but he died not long after he was transferred to hospital.

Work has stopped at the site while the accident is being investigated and police are working alongside Workplace Standards.

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11:04 am, Thursday 22 November, 2012

The Hon Bill Shorten MP
Photo: Ministers’ Media Centre

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten urged Victoria and Western Australia to introduce the harmonised Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws following South Australia and Tasmania’s move to adopt the new laws.

Mr Shorten said that harmonised laws will reduce red tape and deliver safer workplaces. Implementing the harmonised laws is estimated to generate national net benefits of $250 million each year over the next 10 years. The laws are also expected to generate productivity improvements of up to $2 billion a year over the same period.

“Our most important resource is our people – giving them certainty and greater safety at work is vitally important,” said Mr Shorten.

“With this is mind, I now call on Victoria and Western Australia to introduce their Bills, so workers in these states may also benefit from harmonised laws.”

With workplace in Tasmania and Australia introducing the new laws effective from 1 January 2013, Minister Shorten says 64 in every 100 working Australians will be covered by modern, best practice and consistent laws.

“This year marks the first time in history the majority of Australians will be covered by harmonised work health and safety arrangements,” he said.

“Workers and employers in South Australia and Tasmania will join millions of other Australians already benefitting from harmonised WHS laws in other states and territories.

“This will result in more productive workplaces, but more importantly it will provide safer workplaces so that all working Australians can return home to their loved ones at the end of their working day.”

Peak industry organisations, unions, governments and businesses across the country have been clamouring for harmonised health and safety laws for many years.

“The Gillard Government is now delivering these new arrangements, which include an agreed model Act, and Regulations and Codes of Practice.”

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02:06 pm, Thursday 15 November, 2012

Senior Constable Pat Allen, recently elected as head of the Tasmanian Police Association, has said that the changes to OHS laws that will be in force next year from January 1, will have a significant impact on how the police do their job.

He said that instead of officers on the street being responsible for their own safety it will revert to senior management meaning that the Association will focus more on operational safety and management will be looking and how things are done and by who.

The difficulty with this, SC Pat Allen said, was that with ongoing budget cuts and redundancies, 160 hours overtime a fortnight was becoming common for police.

He said that he felt sympathy for management who were operating with tighter budgets but that the police force needs to be quarantined where possible as the first line of public safety.

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11:10 am, Wednesday 31 October, 2012

Michelle O’Byrne Photo: Premier’s Dept.

Michelle O’Byrne, the Minister for Health, launched a new tool on Friday designed to assist employers in Tasmania to improve productivity, health and safety in the workplace.

She said that the guide outlines how businesses in Tasmania can create a workplace health and wellbeing program or if they already have one, tips for improvement.

Ms O’Byrne said that a workplace that is healthy is not only good for workers and their families but business as well because healthy employees take less sick leave and are happier in the workplace.

Ms O’Byrne added that a third of our waking day is spent at work so it is no surprise that the World Health Organisation rates the workplace as an important place for health promotion.

The tool, called “Your Simple Guide to Workplace Health and Wellbeing “ can assist employers to modify programs toe fit the needs of their particular workers.

For more information and to access the resources included in the guide see the WorkCover Tasmania website.

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01:05 pm, Monday 1 October, 2012

Mr Overland, who was is Tasmania’s chair of WorkCover Tasmania and secretary of the Department of Justice, opened the Workplace Bully Conference today saying that the focus will be on the new workplace safety laws as well as bullying.

He joked that, “And my personal favourite, we’re going to be talking about organisational psychopaths.”

He added, “I’m sure we’ve all come across those during our careers and I’m intrigued to see exactly what we will be talking about during the course of the day.”

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12:36 pm, Sunday 4 December, 2011

The Tasmanian Parliament voted to delay the commencement of the Occupational Health and Safety Harmonisation laws for a year. The Parliament’s decision to delay the implementation of the OHS laws follows that of Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria.

Majority won with 11-3 votes to postpone discussions of the bill until March 2012. The OHS harmonisation law which aims to harmonise state and federal workers laws on safety was introduced in April 2011.

Since its conception, the OHS harmonisation laws which is said to take effect on January 1, 2012 has been the point of debate of different sectors. Opposition’s finance spokesman Rob Lucas, in a media release in September, said that the Housing Industry Association (HIA) have estimated that the new laws will increase costs by “approximately $20,000 for a double story construction.” Other sectors expressed their support to the harmonisation, saying that it would provide unions more power in addressing safety and health issues in the workplace.

Senator Eric Abetz expressed his concern over the OHS Harmonisation laws saying that the Labour party should delay its commencement for another year to truly assess whether true harmonisation can take place.

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