Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Education and Employment References Committee on industrial deaths in Australia, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee. I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

This is an important report on industrial manslaughter. In tabling this report, I'd like to acknowledge the many families that are here in the public gallery today. These families are here because someone they loved dearly was killed at work and never came home. These families have travelled here at their own expense from all over Australia, including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. They are here because they do not want other families to experience the suffering that they have. They are here because they are demanding change. Like all the families who participated in this inquiry, they have endured and are still enduring immense pain, anguish, grief and anger. The human impact of an industrial death is catastrophic and far reaching. For the families and friends of those individuals killed at work, the terrible and profound human cost and associated consequences they must suffer are lifelong and often all-consuming. The committee is keenly aware that the retelling of traumatic experience takes an emotional and physical toll. On behalf of my fellow committee members, I sincerely thank all the families for their courage and strength in sharing their stories and concerns, which have informed our deliberations on this very important topic.

I'd particularly like to acknowledge the advocacy of Mrs Kay Catanzariti, who is here in the gallery today. Kay's 21-year-old son Ben was tragically killed on a Canberra construction site in 2012. Kay has been tireless in her campaign to raise awareness of the issues impacting families with loved ones who never came home from work. Her lobbying efforts were instrumental in the referral of this inquiry, and she is highly committed to seeking legislative and regulatory change to improve the frameworks surrounding industrial deaths. I applaud her determination and strength in speaking out.

Safe Work advises that, as of 4 October, there have been 97 Australian workers killed at work in 2018. This is unacceptable. These workers and the thousands of workers killed before them did not go to war; they simply went to work. Every single workplace death is preventable. No-one should go to work and not come home. It is unacceptable that a rise in precarious employment practices and the pursuit by many companies of profit at any cost has led, in too many instances, to a corporate culture with a reckless disregard for the welfare of workers. We need to change the way workers are treated. Workers should never be treated as mere disposable assets. Workers must be treated with a proper regard for their workplace rights and safety. During the course of this inquiry, it became clear that the current legislative regulatory framework for dealing with workplace deaths is grossly inadequate.

Employers that disregard the risks to the lives of their workers and whose conduct negligently causes the death of a worker must be held responsible for such destructive behaviour. It is absolutely necessary for corporate entities to be held accountable for their actions, including facing prosecution for industrial manslaughter for the worst examples of corporate or individual behaviour. For those organisations that wilfully flout the existing work health and safety arrangements and whose actions result in a catastrophic outcome of loss of life, it is entirely warranted that serious consequences flow. This is particularly the case in organisations which are considered to be repeat offenders. This is why the committee recommends that Safe Work Australia, with the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, introduces a nationally consistent industrial manslaughter offence into the model work health and safety laws, using the current Queensland laws as a starting point. We believe that the offence of industrial manslaughter will send a clear message about the Australian community's expectations of safety in the workplace. Corporations must be held accountable both morally and legally. Where appropriate, the corporate veil must be pierced.

Another matter raised during the inquiry relating to the accountability of corporations was the existence of insurance policies designed to indemnify corporations and individual directors against financial penalties handed down for criminal breaches of the work health and safety legislation. Companies that take out this directors and officers insurance show an inexcusable disregard for the consequences of their actions. This behaviour in itself is reprehensible. Given that the prospect of personal liability for work health and safety breaches is one of the core drivers for the improvement of corporate safety culture, the committee has concluded that there is an urgent need to resolve this issue. The committee recommends that the model work health and safety legislation be swiftly amended to make it clear that contracts which purport to offer insurance against criminal penalties are unenforceable and illegal.

During the inquiry, the committee was disappointed to hear that investigations into industrial deaths were often compromised in terms of the duration of the investigation, the quality of the investigation process and some investigators' attitudes towards the investigation itself.

I draw a comparison between the way an industrial death is investigated and the way a road vehicle accident death is investigated. The road vehicle accident death is treated as a crime scene and the incident is investigated on the basis that it may lead to criminal charges. The life of a worker is no less precious during their working hours than it is during their commute to work, yet evidence provided to the committee indicates that such a rigorous and professional investigative approach is not equally applied to industrial deaths.

The committee finds it imperative that the work health and safety regulators and law enforcement agencies undertaking the investigation of an industrial death do so with the correct attitude—that is, that the death they are investigating is potentially a criminal matter, not merely an accident.

This is why the committee recommends that Safe Work Australia work with work health and safety regulators in each jurisdiction to develop a policy that stipulates that all industrial deaths must be investigated as a potential crime scene.

The committee also recommends that Safe Work Australia work with the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and work health and safety regulators to develop and deliver standardised training modules for investigators. The committee hopes this will ensure all investigators have the appropriate skills, experience and attitude to carry out timely, high-quality investigations of industrial deaths and other serious breaches of work health and safety laws.

Throughout this inquiry the committee heard many compelling stories from families forced to navigate the myriad of complex formal processes that follow an industrial death, all while dealing with overwhelming grief and other mental, physical and financial burdens.

Guided by these insights, the committee is making a number of recommendations aimed at improving the system for families. For example, the committee is recommending that Safe Work Australia work with the work health and safety regulators in each jurisdiction to identify and formalise family outreach mechanisms so that all impacted families are provided with the information and support they require in a timely manner. The committee is also recommending that each jurisdiction make funding available for a range of mental health and counselling support options, including in rural and regional areas.

I am hopeful that, if implemented, these and other recommended measures will lead to greater support and transparency for these families who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in incredibly distressing and difficult circumstances.

This has been a comprehensive inquiry and the committee has made 34 recommendations. I would urge governments and policymakers to look carefully at the committee's recommendations and to consider seriously their implementation. Change is required so that no worker goes to work in Australia and then does not come home.

I would like to once again thank all the individuals, families and organisations who assisted the committee during this inquiry. I would also like to thank my colleagues on their committee for their work over the past seven months. I would also like to give my very genuine thanks to the committee secretariat staff for again assisting in putting together what I think is a comprehensive and high-quality report. I now commend this report to the Senate.