Evaluating mine safety legislation in Queensland

For historical and arguably pragmatic reasons, the mining industry in Queensland has always been the subject of a separate OHS regulatory regime, enforced by an independent mines inspectorate. One consequence of this separation of mining from mainstream OHS has been to isolate the industry from legislative and regulatory developments elsewhere. What became regarded as “best practice regulation” as regards OHS generally was largely ignored by the mining sector, its policy makers and its regulators, who continued to adopt forms of regulation which “mainstream” regulators had long rejected as unlikely to reduce levels of work related injury and disease to anything approaching acceptable levels.2 However belatedly, all this is now changing. Statutory changes were made in Queensland in 1999 with the introduction of the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (QLD) (CMSHA 1999) and the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 (QLD) (MQSHA 1999). It is these statutes that are the principal subject matter of this working paper, which has three purposes: (i) to provide an overview of the traditional approach to mine safety regulation and its limitations; (ii) to describe the main features of the new generation of mine safety legislation in Queensland; and (iii) to critically evaluate contemporary arrangements and identify what further reforms may be desirable. However, it does not purport to address either the role of worker participation, or enforcement and penalties

Asbestos-Related Diseases and Workers' Compensation

Although exposure to asbestos at work can give rise to incapacitating and often fatal diseases, there are significant obstacles for workers in claiming compensation for asbestos-related diseases. Such obstacles include the long latency of the disease, the need to establish causation many years after exposure, and the fact that individual workers may have been exposed to asbestos with multiple employers and/or in multiple jurisdictions. With the legacy of disease from past and present asbestos exposure expected to continue for some decades to come, there is a crucial need to address the obstacles to workers, and their families, receiving fair and adequate compensation. This article examines how asbestos-related diseases have been compensated in Australia, and how the Commonwealth, state and territory workers' compensation schemes might be reformed to facilitate compensation. The article clarifies the often conflicting interests of workers and employers (and their respective representatives), discusses alternative models for compensation in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and explains options for national legislation, national uniformity or consistency in Australian schemes. The article evaluates alternative approaches with reference to the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, equity and political acceptability, and proposes a strategy for reform based on uniform provisions specific to asbestos-related disease compensation

Safety Regulation and the Mining Inspectorate – Lessons From Western Australia

This paper examines the role of mining regulation and its enforcement, principally in Western Australia. It begins by describing the activities of the Mines Inspectorate and then raising a series of concerns relating to the limitations of the regulatory status quo. In particular it examines the extent to which the Department of Industry and Resources (DoIR) inspectors rely on detailed prescriptive requirements to the detriment of performance and systems based approaches; the extent to which the DoIR audit process fails to monitor adequately the effectiveness of OHS management systems; the extent to which DoIR inspectors failed to consult adequately with worker representatives; the limitations of the inspectorate’s current approach to enforcement action; and whether the inspectorate was sufficiently independent of the companies it regulated. It concludes with some broader reflections in response to the DoIR’s vision of best regulatory practice, and by raising some practical issues concerning the lack of adequate regulatory resources.

Cotton, health and environment: a case study of self-regulation

The Australian cotton industry confronts a range of serious occupational health and environmental challenges, many of which relate to the use and misuse of agricultural chemicals. This article asks which policy instruments are likely to be most effective and efficient in addressing those challenges? Is government regulation a credible option or would industry self-regulation achieve better results? Is there a role for safety. Health and environmental management systems or is some other option, or combination of options, likely to achieve better economic and health and environmental outcomes? More broadly, given the substantial threats to the cotton industry's legitimacy (and indirectly to its economic viability) resulting from its tarnished environmental image, how might the industry best preserve its 'social license' and rebuild trust and credibility with key stakeholders? The answers to these questions will have broader resonance than to the cotton industry alone. The industry provides a classic example of the health and environmental challenges that confront high input, intensively irrigated agriculture and other industries that have aroused a high degree of public concern concerning their health and environmental impact. The ways it has reacted to the pressures it faced and sought through voluntary environmental management arrangements (VEMAs), to protect both its 'social license' and its economic viability, contain important lessons for many other industry sectors that will, sooner or later, confront similar health, environmental and economi

Wole Soyinka: Boko Haram is not just a Nigerian problem – it is a crime against humanity

In a recent event at the British Library, Wole Soyinka reflected on his large body of work and spoke on current events in Nigeria, reports LSE’s Ellie Gunningham

Sourcing talent for business in Africa’s emerging markets

In a panel discussion hosted by the Business Council for Africa West & Southern, the focus was on the role of the Diaspora in the solution to the shortage of human capital within growing markets in Africa, reports LSE’s Ellie Gunningham

Exodus: immigration and multiculturalism in the 21st century

Ellie Gunningham reviews a recent public lecture at LSE during which Professor Paul Collier discussed his new book Exodus: immigration and multiculturalism in the 21st century which focuses on the increasing rate of migration from poor to rich countries