Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before moving general business notice of motion No. 644 I inform the chamber that Senator Bilyk will also sponsor this motion. I, and also on behalf of Senator Bilyk, move:

That the Senate—

(a) recognises that:

  (i) since the report of the Senate Education and Employment References Committee "They never came home—the framework surrounding the prevention, investigation and prosecution of industrial deaths in Australia" in late 2018, 190 workers have lost their lives in the workplace,

  (ii) as of 4 June 2020, 78 Australian workers have died on the job this year, and

  (iii) these preventable workplace fatalities highlight the urgent need for industrial manslaughter laws to protect workers;

(b) congratulates the Victorian, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Northern Territory governments for passing comprehensive industrial manslaughter laws; and

(c) calls on the Federal Government to act on the recommendations of the "They never came home" report, which has been gathering dust since October 2018.