Tuesday, 12 November 2024

Western Victoria Region

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (13:04): (1235) My question for the Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC relates to the tragic accident at the Golden Plains wind farm yesterday, which cost the life of a 36-year-old technician. This is an appalling tragedy for family, friends and colleagues. My thoughts, and I am sure those of the whole house, are with them and with the emergency service responders involved. I have been taken aback, however, to hear just a day later widespread negative commentary on safety standards. AWU state secretary Ronnie Hayden told the ABC:

… parts of this site … are just a shambles …

And in terms of safety, he said that:

The renewable energy section is about 15 years behind civil construction …

… they believe they can get away with dodgy work conditions because they are out in the sticks …

Minister, will you ask WorkSafe to extend their inquiry beyond this tragic accident to examine construction practices in the sector as a whole?