Mines Safety Shake-Up in WA

The WA State Government has announced a major shake-up of safety in the resources industry and called for an improvement in mines safety record.

The Government was well on its way to introducing a system that could help prevent tragedies such as the death at the Perseverance Mine.

According to the Minister in charge, the reforms introduce a more risk-based approach in place of prescriptive rules and regulations. They will reinforce that the onus is on operators to demonstrate an understanding of the hazards and risks of their workplace.

The changes will be implemented by the Resources Safety Division of the Department of Mines and Petroleum.

A ministerial advisory panel, containing representatives of Government, industry and unions has also been established to monitor their delivery.

The reforms will be funded by a series of levies, fees and charges from industry that can only be spent on safety issues.

Cost recovery in safety regulation is widely accepted and has already been successfully adopted by New South Wales and Queensland.

The Minister said close to $8million was expected to be raised this year for the reforms and the number of available mines inspectors almost doubled.