Miners to share safety knowledge as conference wraps up

QUEENSLAND'S mine workers along with union and government representatives have vowed to share with all their colleagues the new and proven health and safety techniques learnt from this year’s Queensland Mining Industry Health and Safety Conference on the Gold Coast, which finishes today, August 21).

Conference chair and CFMEU safety representative Greg Dalliston said the most important part of all the work that goes into the four-day conference is that all parties implement the necessary changes to improve health and safety.

“Just like carrying the conference bag back with them to work we want all of the delegates to carry with them the critical information about new ways to foster proactive health and safety policies to their respective mine sites. We need everyone to encourage workers to stand up and raise safety issues without fear or retribution,” Mr Dalliston said.

“Tragically we have lost four mine workers and two quarry workers in the past 12 months and it is paramount we work together by exchanging information to make mine sites fatality free.”

The conference, now in its 31st year, heard a panel discussion with Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham, Queensland Resources Council’s chief executive Ian Macfarlane, CFMEU’s district president Stephen Smyth, Commissioner for Mine Safety and Health Kate du Preez and vice-president of the Australian Workers’ Union Mark Raguse on how industry is resolving issues and implementing new policies to safeguard workers.

Mr Macfarlane said industry had already completed half of the safety resets after Minister Lynham called for action across the state.

“Minister Lynham said industry needed to organise two-way conversations with every mine worker on every site with management to complete the state-wide safety reset. Today, we’ve seen Minister Lynham tell Parliament that more than 23,000 workers have done just that,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“That’s more than half and we’re working with the other companies to have the safety reset completed by the end of August.”

A new record of 975 delegates, including from the world’s largest mining companies attended the conference this year with a theme of ‘Working to the Future’. Delegates heard from Brant North who survived a mine accident and has represented Australia at the Paralympics, advocate for countering violent extremism Gill Hicks and big wave surfer and Red Bull Athlete Mark Matthews.

Conference sessions included incident reporting and analysis; dust impacts and controls; cultural improvement and fitness for work.

Sponsors of the conference, held at The Star, included principal sponsor Anglo American, Glencore, Yancoal, Uvex, Peabody and the CFMEU.

www.qrc.org.au

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