The Advertiser

GPO Box 339

ADELAIDE SA 5001

Dear Sir/Madam 

RE: LETTER TO THE EDITOR: DELAY IN PASSING THE WORK HEALTH SAFETY BILL 2011

Many ordinary Australian working people will be wanting answers from the Liberal Party Legislative Councillors in the SA Parliament about their decision to delay the passing of the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act (Liberals block safety laws, The Advertiser 30.11.2011). The Liberal governments in Victoria and West Australia are saying that they will delay the passing of this crucial bill for another year. 

The process of trying to unify Australia’s OH& S laws began in 2008
and it is very important that the new legislation is implemented as quickly as possible.

I heard some of the committee proceedings in the House of Assembly of the State Parliament at the final stages of discussion the WHS Bill in that house. Iain Evans (Liberal) had a series of questions and amendents most of which sought to delay the passing of the bill and to water down its effectiveness.

One amendment sought to stop the Codes under the incoming act from being used as a legal instrument! 

I wonder if he would say this about the Road Safety Code. 

Safety codes are put in place to give interested people the required
safety standards they are expected to comply with. If a negligent driver causes a fatality on the road, s/he will face the legal consequences. The same principle should apply to negligent employers who cause death and injury in their workplaces because of their refusal ro comply with effective occupational health, safety and welfare.

Greg Kelton, the journalist who wrote the article I referred to, claims
that the new laws are controversial. Such laws are not considered to be
controversial in countries like the Scandinavian countries where they have even stricter OHS&W laws than we can expect when the current Australian WHS Bill is passed. Their politicians also give a higher priority to human rights. 

There is an urgent need to introduce the new legislation in this country. 

Many may not be aware that the deaths caused in Australia’s workplaces outnumber road casualties by a factor of more than three to one. Young workers are more prominent in these statistics than older workers.

On Friday 25 November, we in Australia observed Asbestos Memorial Day, a day that commemorates the deaths of tens of thousands of ordinary Australian workers and consumers who have been exposed to asbestos dust. Safe Work Australia estimates that tens of thousands are in the process of dying because of this exposure to a product that was withdrawn from use in the construction industry in 1983. This should be viewed as a national tragedy and steps need to be taken urgently to prevent it from continuing.

There are many other carcinogenic chemicals and agents that workers are exposed to that take a toll on the lives and health of ordinary Australians as well.

As a national community, we need to consider effective OHS&W laws as a basic human right for working people. Another basic human right for workers is that, following their working lives, they should be able to retire to enjoy long, happy and healthy retirements. 

In a civilised society, it is unacceptable that some try to profit from
not having effective laws to protect the health, safety and welfare of members of our national workforce. 

Yours sincerely

Andrew (Andy)
Alcock