Complaint to Qld Law Society Mines Department Misuse RTI 6th March 2020
Peter;
I note in your correspondence that you stated
I consider your request to me for the information has been satisfied with the details I have provided above, as such will close off this matter from my office
For your information I am providing a copy of the contents of an email sent to the Queensland Law Society this morning.
Could you please consider the contents of the Email?
Could you also pass this email on to the Responsible Officers in the Department.
Yours in Safety
Stuart Vaccaneo
Sent: Friday, 6 Mar, 2020 At 4:49 AM
Subject: Right TO Information Fwd: RE: Fatality Report AccessiTo Qld Law Society
Subject: Right TO Information Fwd: RE: Fatality Report AccessiTo Qld Law Society
Attn Luke Murphy
President;
I wish to bring the matter of the routine use of Right to Information demands by the Qld Mines Department for most information requests.
In short can you be of any assistance in finding Legal Advice in this matter?
I am forwarding the following email chain with the Chief Inspector of Coal Mines.
It is illogical and a failure of duty of the Mines Department to withhold access.
Of the 47 fatalities in Queensland’s Mines and Quarries only 3 have ever been published.
The Government goes and Commissions a Review of the Fatalities and provides the Reviewer with full access to the reports.
As far as I can see the Reviewer has never worked at a Mine, holds no mining qualifications.
In short I do not see on what basis Mr Brady was selected.
The Department using RTI demands in this case, is in my view just a blatant attempt to ensure the Brady Report cannot be fully and properly analysed.
I am also aware of a request to access all the Safety Alerts issued by the Department since February 2018
If you open up the link no Safety Alerts have been published on the website since February 2018.
I am informed that instead of publishing on the website so any Mine and Quarry Worker or the General Public could access them at any time, a policy decision was made to instead email the Alerts to the Site Senior Executives and other nominated Mine officers.
This is a written summary of the Departments reasons
They said in February 2018, the government decided to provide information to stakeholders through face-to-face interaction and direct emails.
They said the public can find available summaries and statistics on safety incidents the safety alerts page and the annual Queensland Mines and Quarries Safety Performance and Health Report.
The link below is the policy referenced in the DNRME Compliance Policy.
In my view, the Department by not publishing the alerts on the Department website is in breach of its own Public Statement Policy, in particular the stated Aims.
I have been told that for the DNRME to process the RTI request for access to the Safety would write to ALL recipients to see if they object to their release.
How such a process can be used and justified on Department Issued safety alerts is impossible to understand
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours in Safety
Stuart Vaccaneo
0418885360
—— Original Message ——
From: “stuvac stuvac” <stuvac@bigpond.com>
To: peter.newman@dnrme.qld.gov.au
Sent: Tuesday, 18 Feb, 2020 At 7:03 AM
Subject: Fwd: RE: Fatality Report AccessThat should read Mr Brady not Mr Parker
—— Original Message ——
From: “stuvac stuvac” <stuvac@bigpond.com>
To: “Mark Parcell” <mark@minesafetyinstitute.com.au>
Sent: Tuesday, 18 Feb, 2020 At 6:16 AM
Subject: Fwd: RE: Fatality Report Access—— Original Message ——
From: “stuvac stuvac” <stuvac@bigpond.com>
To: “NEWMAN Peter” <Peter.Newman@dnrme.qld.gov.au>
Sent: Tuesday, 18 Feb, 2020 At 6:13 AM
Subject: Re: RE: Fatality Report AccessPeter;
Thank you for your reply.I realise that the apparent cult of secrecy in the Mines Department means that you have been forced to send the reply about having to lodge RTI requests.Rather than write a multi-page response can you please pass this on to the appropriate member of the Public Service making these decisions and also the Mines Minister.The cult of secrecy is one of the main drivers for continuing fatalities in the States Mines and Quarries.How the decision maker can decide to hide behind RTI at this point is ridiculous and in my view makes the Mines Department deliberately negligently complicit in further mine mine-worker fatalities.I will just use one of the few examples available to the general public.The Daniel Springer fatality report of the DNRME makes extensive findings on many matters that are basic.Further the Mines Department findings do not in any way seem to have been subject to any action by the Mines Department.For the DNRME to find the SSE at Goonyella Riverside Mine was in fact not the SSE, and not take any action is unbelievable and unforgivable.In my view such inaction is straight dereliction of duty.If the Mines Department has undertaken corrective actions, please tell me what they have been.Given the SSE is supposed to be appointed by the Operator, how can the Operator not be culpable for this arrangement?What has the Department done to prevent this same situation at Goonyella Riverside continuing; let alone other Mines run by the same Operator?I have attached a word document containing a number of findings of the official DNRME Report.Wonder why workers nearly drown in a dozer at one of its sister mines less than a year later, and then within 6 months a worker dies in a dozer when rolling into mud/water.A couple of final points.How the Department and Minister can release all the reports to Mr Brady, a person who by his own admission has never worked in the Coal Industry, has no Statutory Qualifications, no understanding of the Mining Acts, and then deliberately and wilfully prevent anyone else accessing the same information is logic only the Mines Department can follow.Please on my behalf pass on this lack of information about Fatalities by the duly legislated safety oversight branch does in fact make Qld a world leader.It is the only coal mining jurisdiction in at least the english speaking world I am aware of, that does not routinely publish these reports.In my view the cult of secrecy is one of if not the major reason fatalities are still occurring.
