Immediate Public Release of Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee legislation effectiveness review sub-committee recommendations. Correspondence to Qld Mine Safety Commissioner.
There are Seventy-Three (73) changes to the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act and Regulations that have been recommended by the Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee (CMSHAC).
These 73 come from the 121 contained in the “Expert Legal Assessment CMSHA, CMSHR and Recognised Standards conducted by the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre 8 November 2019, commissioned by then ALP Resources Minister Lynham.
How many of the Coal Mine Face Workers are even aware of the Reports existence, let alone read it?
https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2020/5620T198.pdf
I emailed the Commissioner of Mine Safety Kate du Preez on the 30th of March and urged her –
“to release the full Report of the Subcommittee including justification on what was either rejected or accepted.
I am sure that providing this information falls well within the public interest.”
Ms Du Preez in reply (4th April) rejected my request and pointed out a link to the original 2019 Expert Legal Assessment Report and told me I would have to lodge a Right To Information (RTI) Request for any other information.
You can access the Expert Legal Assessment CMSHA and CMSHR and recognised standards on the Commissioner’s website.
You may also make an information access application under the Right to Information Act 2009.
Further information on accessing information is available here.
Today I replied to her via email.
I also attached a 15 page formal response entitled Immediate Public Release of Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee legislation effectiveness review sub-committee recommendations. (Link immediately below)
Kate Du Preez RTI for Act and Reg changes
This response deals with just 3 of the original 121 Recommendations.
Additionally there are a number of Grosvenor Mine Record Entries from 2016 and 2017 that were attached.
26.04.2017 SSE instruction complaint MRE – Grosvenor Coal Mine –
06.06.2016 Fall MRE – Grosvenor Coal Mine –
13.09.2016 Roof fail dev MRE – Grosvenor Coal Mine –
13.09.2016. Fall Investigation continued MRE – Grosvenor Coal Mine –
21.09.2016 Strata Support Falls Dobson MRE – Grosvenor Coal Mine – .docx
I have included the first page and half of my written response
Qld Mine Safety Commissioner
Kate;
I have enclosed my formal reply to your correspondence.
I urge you to find it in your conscience to release the Advisory Committee Recommendations for changes to the Coal Mining Act and Regulations.
Further as I point out the Expert Legal Assessment did not attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the current Act and Regulations.
I call on you to recommend to the Minister to
- Set aside the Expert Legal Assessment CMSHA, CMSHR and Recognised Standards conducted by the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre 8 November 2019, commissioned by then ALP Resources Minister Lynham.
- Commission an independent “Expert Assessment of Effectiveness of CMSHA, CMSHR and Recognised Standards that is not conducted by the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre.
Can you please reply within one calendar week?
Yours in Safety
In the Introduction of the Report are these Statements
The Report constitutes an independent expert assessment of the intrinsic adequacy of the legal framework governing coal mining safety and health in Queensland
It is important to note that this Report does not encompass any evaluation of how effectively, or otherwise, the legislative framework governing safety and health in the Queensland coal mining industry is implemented. Such an evaluation would require separate processes.
I note that the Advisory Committee in its annual report to the Minister now calls its Recommendations “legislation effectiveness review sub-committee recommendations”
There seems a complete and irreconcilable lie in what the Advisory Committee is stating to the Minister.
There is not one Recommendation for change that has been looked at for effectiveness,
Now the faceless Public Servants at RSHQ get the job of progressing the Recommendations for tabling in Parliament.
When do Coal Mine Workers get made aware of what changes to their Safety and Health Laws are coming?
After its enacted?
How can you as Commissioner of Mine Safety and the Advisory Committee just say no-one has the right to public information about these proposed changes and must make a Right to Information request to know what has been recommended to change?
Commissioner Du Preez, let me point this out to you.
Coal Mine Production and Engineering workers sole Safety and Health Legislative protection comes from the Act and Regulations and its competent and diligent development and application by Management as well as competent and diligent Mines Inspectorate
Every section of the existing Act and Regulations are written in Coal Miners blood.
Each Coal Fatality and Disaster in Queensland since Mount Mulligan has resulted in changes to the Laws to try and prevent similar loss of Miners lives.
How many of the Coal Mine Face Workers are even aware of the Reports existence, let alone read it?
https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2020/5620T198.pdf
For the RSHQ, Advisory Committee and the Commissioner to deliberately say that the Coal Mine Face Workers and Public of Queensland to have to use RTI to know what has been recommended to change is just anti-worker, anti-safety, secretive, unbelievable and really unacceptable in a modern western democracy.
Is this “Putin’s” Russia we now live in?
There are detailed reasons and history why the majority of these Recommendations for change should have been rejected.
Indeed, I would argue many of these Recommendations could only be generated and accepted by those with limited to no historical knowledge of Coal Mining in Queensland
For the sake of brevity, I shall deal with only 3 of them.
2 of the 3 deal with Section 60 of the CMSHA 60 Additional requirements for management of underground mines
For Underground Coal Mine Workers, Underground Mine Managers and Mine Deputies (ERZC’s) in particular there is an extremely concerning, retrograde and unsafe change suggested to the Regulation concerning who can issue “Technical Directions”.
It is arguably the most dangerous Recommendation made by the Expert Committee.
Anyone who advanced this need for change has no understanding of the Findings and Recommendations of multiple Mining Wardens Inquiries going back to Box Flat (1972- 17 dead), Kianga (1975- 13 dead) and Moura No 2 (1994 – 11 dead).
