AMSJ spoke to veteran mining engineer, company director and mining safety advocate Dr Ray Parkin OAM regarding his thoughts on the recent fatalities in the Queensland mining industry. Dr Parkin, a member of the Queensland Resources Council, tell all interview will send shivers through the mining industry in Queensland Australia as he exposes practices that hide the truth in mining accidents. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW
Dr Parkin says that the Queensland mining industry must change the culture to ensure that the real truth on mining accidents comes out. He explains the issues surrounding legal professional privilege and how it is used by the legal profession and mining companies to ‘cover up’ the true facts behind an accident. He claims that “company lawyers” directly prevented the sharing of information at the state’s biggest mining safety event, the Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference.
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The video highlights the frustration of the mining industry veteran on issues that have contributed to the deaths of miners in the State and exposes potential ‘unconscionable’ conduct with regard to mining accidents and mining fatalities.
He says that the culture of the Queensland Mining Industry must change through a ‘no blame’ approach on mining accidents in order for the industry to learn from its’ past mistakes.
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I do not think there is too much doubt across most high hazard industries, including mining, that there is a reluctance both to share genuine lessons, and to speak honestly about safety. Why would you speak honestly about safety when having an LTI means you lose your contract or being exposed to serious criminal penalties? We cannot have it both ways. We cannot keep peddling the myth that a higher and higher penalties for breaches of WHS legislation, and more and more severe threats of jail time, but then not expect individuals and organisations to take advantage of the legal protections available to them. We need a model of consequence management in WHS that promotes the objectives of safe workplaces, rather than undermines that objective: https://www.waylandlegal.com.au/post/why-i-do-not-support-industrial-manslaughter