Western Australia's safety authority has announced an inquiry into the agriculture sector following a series of farm-related deaths.
Western Australia's safety authority has announced an inquiry into the agriculture sector following the 12th death in as many months.The WorkSafe commissioner has launched an inquiry into the agricultural sector following a series of deathsA 24-year-old man in the Great Southern died after being fatally struck due to the failure of towing equipment
The man was attempting to move a bogged vehicle with a tractor when the towing equipment failed, fatally striking his head."The statistics for the agricultural industry are not acceptable, and it is deeply concerning that the number of fatalities in the industry continues to increase," he said."Any work-related death is a tragedy, and I offer my sincere condolences to the family of the worker involved in yesterday’s incident.
"The culture in the agriculture industry seems to allow fatal incidents to occur at significantly higher rates than any other industry, with farm production appearing to be put before the safety of families and workers," he said.Mr Kavanagh said the inquiry would include recommendations on changes to make the industry safer.
"The State Government on the back of the industrial manslaughter laws which were passed last year, made it very clear that unless the farming industry adopted far better safety protocols and reduced incidents, moving towards zero fatality, they would start pursuing the industry with much more rigour," he said.