Department to administer mine safety rules

5/3/93

Responsibility for administering crucial mine safety regulations has been given back to the Department of Minerals and Energy to ensure the health and welfare of mine workers, Mines Minister George Cash said today.

He said the original transfer to the Commissioner for Occupational Health, Safety, and Welfare by the previous government was based on an unworkable philosophical whim.

"Although it appeared logical to centralise all the State's safety regulations under one organisation, the reality was that it was about to cause considerable problems that might have put miners' lives at risk," Mr Cash said.

"This Government is not prepared to jeopardise what is now the safest working environment ever seen in the mining industry.

"The fact is you cannot have mines inspectors inspecting factories and factory inspectors inspecting mines.

"Not only are their qualifications and expertise entirely different but having them together was about to cause an administrative nightmare.

"It would have been costly to achieve an effective amalgamation and in the meantime it would have created an element of risk which, frankly, we were not prepared to take."

Mr Cash said there was no question about the competency of either the Department of Occupational Health, Safety, and Welfare or the Department of Minerals and Energy.

The Department of Minerals and Energy had been administering safety regulations for a hundred years.  Today, their 52 professional inspectors were responsible for the safety and welfare of 34,000 mine workers.

"These inspectors have helped advance safety in Western Australia's mining industry to the point where fatality and injury rates in this State are at an all-time low," Mr Cash said.

"In fact, injury rates in WA are almost half the national average - despite the fact that our mines are the most productive.

"We are not about to put that record and, indeed, the lives of 34,000 workers at risk by introducing new unworkable management procedures."

Media contact: Narelle Cant 222 9211