Secret Recommended coming changes to Queensland Coal Mine Safety and Health Legislation and Complaint to Premier Palaszczuk
There are Seventy-Three (73) Recommended changes coming to the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act and Regulations.
These Recommended Changes have been handed to my friends at RSHQ to be turned into draft Legislation that will then go out for a consultation process of some description
Again how and why is there no-one from RSHQ giving presentations at the Annual Mining Safety Conference on the Gold Coast about what changes are coming?
Why is it all being kept a tightly controlled secret?
I have been trying totally unsuccessfully since the 30th of March 2022 to obtain information from the Commissioner RSHQ Ms Du Preez as to what these 73 changes to the Act and Regulations are and how they were decided to be recommended?
The Commissioner refused my request outright and referred me to the RTI process on the 4th of April.
I included/copied the Resource Minister and/or one of his Assistants into most emails I sent to the Commissioner from the 11th of April onwards. (I received auto delivery responses from Resources@ministerial.qld.gov.au confirming the Ministers office had received my emails).
Including this correspondence sent on the 9th of May outlining why the Commissioner should immediately release the information. (Tab below)
Release Act and Reg changesCommissioners Responsibilty
At no stage has the Minister sought to make any communications with me over this matter up to now.
Logically since he is fully aware of the issue and has been for 4 months, Minister Stewart agrees and fully supports the positions adopted by the Commissioner.
Firstly, he as Minister agrees that the Coal Mine Workers and Public of Queensland do not deserve to know how and why their Safety and Health legislation is recommended to change until it comes out as draft Legislation.
Secondly that any request for such be met with rejection and immediate invoking of RTI provisions.
Finally, on the 1st of August I informed the Commissioner I was going to write a formal complaint to the Queensland Premier and I did so on the 17th of August. (Tab directly below)
Commissioner Complaint to Premier
In raising my complaint about the Commissioner not releasing I requested the Premier to
- As a matter of urgency to direct the Minister for Resources to publicly release the proposed amendments and the reasoning for them. This in the spirit of transparency, so that all coal miners can consider the potential impact on them personally. Pit by pit.
- Consider whether the Commissioner of refusal to respond in any meaningful form and then just to ignore my questions altogether complies with Functions of the Commissioner, the RSHQ 5 year strategic plan, Public Service Code of Conduct, and any other applicable Accountability and Transparency Requirements.
If so found, I also ask that you consider, what if any disciplinary will be taken?
- Lastly if so found, what remedial action both immediate and long-term measures need to be taken to ensure that proper processes with transparent public accountability for oversight of Mining Safety Legislation?
I received a formal response from the office of Premier Palaszczuk to the complaint on the 18th August in part stating that the Premier had decided that it was a matter that it was appropriate that the matter be decided by the Resource Minister Stewart.
The Premier has declined to order Minister for Resources to publicly release the proposed amendments and the reasoning for them
By doing so it seems the Premier has also decided that it is NOT appropriate that the Coal Miners of Queensland to have any right to know what the changes coming to their Safety and Health laws until they are draft Legislation.
At that late stage and except for process and maybe a bit of wording change the new Legislation will be put to Parliament essentially as is.
I responded on the 19th of August pointing out how totally inappropriate it was for Minister Stewart to deal with this matter for a number of reasons, not least his knowledge of the whole history of the matter.
I have also asked the Premier to justify how she decided it was appropriate for the Minister to deal with the complaint due to his pre-existing and intimate knowledge of the matter. (Tab below)
Reply Commissioner Complaint 19 Aug 22
I have also again requested that the Premier organize an investigation of this whole matter.
At this stage all I have received in response from the Premiers Department are automatic messages reporting my email has been successfully received etc etc.
For the life of me why is any recommended changes to Safety and Health Legislation such a secret.
If the case and process is so great, there is nothing to hide and everything to gain by being open and up front.
These 73 changes have been recommended by the Coal Mining Safety and Health Advisory Committee (CMSHAC).
RSHQ (Resources Safety and Health Queensland) right at the moment has been directly empowered to get these Recommended changes turned into draft Legislation.
To assess, with the details to be determined in line with government policy, parliamentary drafting processes, impacts assessment, and stakeholder consultation.
The advisory committee also noted that it should be consulted on final drafting of any proposed legislative changes
The Commissioner refused my request outright and referred me to the RTI process on the 4th of April.
There were several further email exchanges about releasing the said Recommendations with the final response I received from the Commissioner was on the 22nd of April.
The Commissioner still insisted on not releasing any of the relevant information.
I have attempted to get a further response from the Commissioner via a number of subsequent follow up emails as the weeks then became months of silence from the Commissioner
After the 9th of May all they asked was if and when I would ever get a response from my correspondence of the 9th of May .
These 73 Recommendations 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
