Defence: overcoming its âcan Doâ culture unsW kills safety anD risk ...

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eDitorialohs harmonisation?is it a pushmi – pullyuin the making?as the nation moves towards theharmonisation of workplace health andsafety laws across nine jurisdictions,the question remains: onceimplemented, will it stick and will itresult in truly harmonised regulationof OHS across the country? Or will theinterpretation and application of thelaws by separate jurisdictions result ina Dr Dolittle style pushmi – pullyu.20OHS PrOfeSSiOnaL ISSUE 3 | MARCH 2010
eDitorialWhen Julia Gillard spoke to a members at the insurance giant Allianz’sWorkers’ Compensation National Client Seminar in September lastyear she was under no illusion about the challenges that lie ahead.“If it was easy, it would have been done by now,” she said, quoting BarackObama who was facing his own battles to reform US healthcare.The workplace health and safety laws will consist of the model WorkplaceHealth and Safety Act, supported by model work health and safetyRegulations and model Codes of Practice that can be readily adopted aroundAustralia. This requires each state and territory to pass their own laws thatmirror the model workplace health and safety laws and adopt them by December2011. Harmonisation, as Gillard noted, has been on Labor’s agendasince 1974.But with Western Australia’s decision to reserve “the right not to adopt[future] changes recommended” by the Workplace Relations MinisterialCouncil (WRMC), the road to harmonisation has already shown signs thatunification and consistency in the future development and application of themodel laws may be difficult to achieve.Cracks that may widen as time passes were illustrated clearly on 11 Decemberlast year as Gillard welcomed state and territory agreement to themodel OHS laws when Western Australian Minister for Commerce TroyBuswell released a separate statement that drew a line in the sand over severalaspects, including the level of penalties and right of entry; power forhealth and safety representatives to stop work; and reverse onus of proof fordiscrimination issues.“We also have concerns about changes to Category 1 and 2 offences inthe model laws proposed by Safe Work Australia and adopted today by theWRMC,” he said.Category 1 and 2 offences cover serious harm cases, with the categoriesdistinguished by whether a breach was considered reckless or not. At the topend, corporations can face penalties of $3 million, while individuals can facea $600,000 fine and five years imprisonment.Michael Tooma, partner at law firm Norton Rose, comments that whilehigh level agreement was reached through the WRMC in December lastyear, risks to harmonisation’s sustainability have not been canvassed sufficiently.While for example the Workplace Relations Act was effectively “stampedon the country”, the Workplace Model Health and Safety Act has requiredstate government cooperation.“If the proposed laws are implemented by state and territory governments,it will result in harmonisation,” Tooma told OHS Professional.“The laws will hopefully have little difference, but those nine jurisdictionswill still be enforced by nine different regulators, and nine differentcourt systems,” he said. “Also, over time, as governments change, so maythe emphasis change.”Tooma pointed to South Australia and Tasmania’s upcoming election as“it’s expecting that a change of government will keep thecommitment of its predecessor, which is a significantleap of faith. you’re relying on that, overtime, it won’tdeviate from the script.”norton rose partner michael tooma.Avoid costly litigation by installingSafemate Antislip products toprevent slips and falls on wet,oily or soiled stairways, walkwaysand ladders.Proudly manufactured and testedin Australia for over 35 years,to ensure the highest qualitystandards are met.Safemate InternationalMelbourne: Tel 03 9798 7450Sydney: Tel 02 9614 1552Toll Free: Tel 1800 337 706Email: sales@safemate.comWebsite: www.safemate.comISSUE 3 | MARCH 2010 OHS PrOfeSSiOnaL 21
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