Review of Grosvenor Mine RSHQ Prosecution Brief to OWHS Prosecutor Request to Qld Resources Minister Scott Stewart

Sent to the Resources Scott Stewart today and copied to the Premier and all 93 Qld State MP’s

1^st March 2020

To Scott Stewart

Queensland Natural Resources Minister

Re: Review of RSHQ Grosvenor Mine Prosecution Brief Five Contract Mine Workers workers critically burnt. Non-Prosecution Anglo Grosvenor Management May 2020 methane explosion,

Dear Scott;

The announcement by the OWHS Prosecutor that no prosecution would take place marks the lowest point of oversight of Queensland Coal Mine Workers Safety and Health. since the Coal Mines Inspectorate was first formed 97 years ago in 1925, as a response to the Royal Commission into the 1921 Mulligan Disaster.

I have no doubt this is the biggest betrayal of Regulatory Oversight of Queensland Mine Workers Safety and Health by the Mines Department and its Political/Ministerial Responsibilities ever.

Where are all the pious sentiments from you and your immediate predecessor about how those that have been killed and maimed in the States Mines will never be forgotten.

Have you forgotten your words at Mount Mulligan and Moranbah Memorial Services in 2021 so quickly?

Isn’t what these five men have had to endure and do so for their rest of their lives enough?

What happened at Grosvenor to those Five Contract Coal Mine Workers is nothing short of a Disaster for them.

The horrific burns, rescuing themselves and each other off the face, having to be put in induced coma’s for weeks, ongoing operations and the associated permanent physical and mental trauma.

How negligent or incompetent does Management have to be to be?

Do Mine Workers have to be killed at work for anyone to be held to account?

How many Sections of the Act and Regulations have to be broken?

The lack of prosecutions is the result of both the most shameful and shameless effort by the Mines Inspectorate (now RSHQ) to hide information from public view, and to retain a shroud of secrecy in everything it does and does not do.

On any objective analysis the Grosvenor Inquiry was likely the most limited and useless Inquiry ever conducted by the Queensland Government compared to the Royal Commissions and Wardens Inquiries of the past

As a couple of examples.

1. None of the Inspectors who routinely Inspected the Mine were ever called to give evidence even though they provided written Statements to the Inquiry.
2. None of the Inspectors who responded on the 6^th of May 2020 were ever called to give evidence even though they provided written Statements to the Inquiry
3. No Anglo Grosvenor Management gave Statements or verbal evidence.
4. Information provided to the Inquiry never referenced in Public hearings; some which was later published by the Inquiry, some not

The Grosvenor Inquiry as you well know was constrained by the Terms of Reference.

There is no doubt that RSHQ’s twisting and turning before, during, and after the Ministerial Grosvenor Inquiry was driven by the desire to remain out of public scrutiny in its conduct both as an Organisation and as Individual Officers.

You as the relevant Minister have now proven that you (and your Government) seem to care more for Coal Mining Royalties than keeping effective Safety and Health Regulatory Oversight of Mine Workers lives.

The Five Workers horrendously burnt have been giving a life sentence of pain, permanent and mostly irreparable disfigurement and injury.

The Public Announcement that the RSHQ Inspectorate had given the green light to Longwall Mining  re-commencing some 24 or so hours before the Prosecutor announcing that no Prosecutions would occur, is the lowest point ever for Queensland Mine Workers.

Information is that the RSHQ (Mines Inspectorate) only gave the Office of the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor (OWHSP) a limited scope of information to investigate.

The events on May 6th 2020 was all that the Prosecutor were allowed to investigate.

NONE OF THE EVIDENCE from the days, weeks, months, years leading up to May 6th were investigated. The Inspectorate (RSHQ) apparently didn’t give OWHSP the ability to investigate that.

Therefore, none of the evidence from the Ministerial Inquiry dealing with events between the 1st of July 2019 and the 5th May 2020 could be referenced.

I assume that also includes none of the relevant information within the RSHQ files including their own Investigation Report, besides what happened on the 6th of May 2020.

If true; this just defies belief.

It goes against the whole way the Coal Mining Act and Regulations were drafted, the way they are written, the way they are to be implemented and followed, and finally the way they are supposed to be overseen and enforced by the Mines Inspectorate.

I am formally requesting that you exercise whatever Ministerial Powers, Directions and Discretion you possess to initiate/conduct a formal review of the Prosecution brief provided by RSHQ to the OWHS Prosecutor.

Firstly, to establish how and when (the timeline) of the development of the Prosecution Brief, and if an appropriate Prosecution brief was developed and provided by RSHQ. (This includes whether only the events of May 6^th 2020 were provided for the OWHS Prosecutors consideration).

Secondly to provide a more appropriate Prosecution brief for consideration via more appropriate persons without huge potential conflict of interest.

Thirdly ask the OWHS Prosecutor to consider a new brief for possible Prosecutions.

This is the biggest and cruellest Insult ever given by the Queensland Regulator and Government to such grievously injured workers.

They are not dry mathematical figures and equations from a high school text-book.

Nor are they long dead names from old English History text-books.

Your Statements as reported in the Courier Mail are an abject failure as the directly responsible Minister

Resources Minister Scott Stewart said he respected the independence of the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor.

“The reasons for their decision not to lay charges are a matter for them,” he said.

“Any loss of life or serious accident in our resources industry is unacceptable – this includes the Grosvenor mine explosion.

“The independent regulator, Resources Safety and Health Queensland, is in the process of considering action against individuals in relation to the incident.”

Mr Stewart also said he was disappointed that a court would not hear charges in relation to this incident

“Disappointed!” Is that the strongest feelings and thoughts that it brings you.

Then again why should I be surprised by all your and your predecessor’s pious words in Public statements and the lack of appropriate action.

After all, you, and the majority of your current Government members from the 55^th Parliament made sure Recommendations for an Investigation of some of the most Senior Public Servants in the then Mines Department just disappeared from public view after the Public Service Commission wrote back to Parliament in August 2017 to say it could not deal with the matter.

Report No. 2, 55th Parliament Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Select Committee May 2017

 

The committee recommends that the Public Service Commissioner review the transcripts of public and private hearings of the committee involving Queensland public servants and consider the extent to which those officers cooperated with and assisted the committee, including whether or not any public servant misled the committee or otherwise breached the Code of Practice for Public Service Employees Assisting or Appearing Before Parliamentary Committees.

 In short, your lack of action back in 2017 has allowed those public servants identified by the Black Lung White Lies Parliamentary Committee of misleading and not assisting a Parliamentary Committee, to escape scrutiny free.

Since that point it seems the Mines Department and RSHQ appears more intent than ever to ensure that it is not subject to appropriate public scrutiny at all, as well it seems Ministerial, Governmental or Parliamentary scrutiny.

In case you have not formally been made aware of the phrase getting around the Coal Field for the last few years, let me inform you.

“COAL FACE CANNON FODDER”

Queensland Coal Mine Workers are in their trenches and the aristocratic English Officer blows the whistle and says over the top into the German machine guns at the start of shift.

Any who refuses the Officers request is summarily court martialled and shot out of the employment saddle.

The Inspectorate and it seems the whole Queensland Government and Parliamentarians are the equivalent of the English General Staff.

Sitting safely 50km behind the front lines in a bomb proof shelter, drinking tea and eating honey coated crumpets, saying the troops are not fighting hard enough and just to trust the Company Officers.

Show that you actually possess honour and principles and will ensure the Public Service are accountable

Do not just be an epitome of Jim Hacker from Yes Minister, and blindly follow the whispered advice of the Sir Humphrey Appleby’s and their secret agenda’s.

Show that you actually care about what has happened to these Five Contract Mine Workers!

In closing I again am formally requesting that you exercise whatever Ministerial Powers, Directions and Discretion you possess to conduct a formal review of the Prosecution brief provided by RSHQ to the OWHS Prosecutor as suggested earlier in this correspondence.

Yours in Safety

Stuart Vaccaneo

0418 885 360