‘We’re sick of it’: Calls to SHUT DOWN the mining industry as a Queensland worker, 27, becomes the sixth to die in the state in just 12 months
- A 27-year-old mine worker was killed at Baralaba in Queensland On Sunday
- The death brings the 12-month death toll to six and with many more injured
- CFMEU Queensland called for the industry to be shut down for at least 24-hours
The death of the sixth worker in 12 months has prompted calls for the mining industry to be shut down for at least 24 hours while protocols are reassessed.
The 27-year-old man’s death at the coal mine in Baralaba about 4am on Sunday was soon followed by a serious accident with a 57-year-old man about 8am at a North Queensland coal mine.
Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham says the death and injury toll is unacceptable.
‘I am extremely distressed and concerned that there has been six mining and quarry worker deaths in the last 12 months,’ Dr Lyneham says.
The 27-year-old man’s death at the coal mine in Baralaba (pictured) about 4am on Sunday was soon followed by a serious accident where a 57-year-old man fell 10 metres off a platform, about 8am at a North Queensland coal mine
‘I will be following up on discussions held last week by meeting with representatives of the mining industry, including the Queensland Resources Council, CFMEU and AWU and my Department, as a matter of urgency,’ he said in a statement.
‘I will be making it absolutely clear that this situation is unacceptable and requires action.’
CFMEU Queensland mining and energy president Steve Smyth said the mining industry should be shut down for at least 24 hours so some ‘serious reflection can occur’.
‘It’s terrible, we’re sick of it … it’s a safety crisis,’ Mr Smyth told the ABC.
‘We’ve been saying there needs to be a major safety reset.’
Just hours after the fatality at Baralaba, a man fell about 10 metres from a platform at Glencore’s Collinsville Coal Mine.
Queensland Mines Minister Anthony Lynham says the death and injury toll is unacceptable and said there must be changes made
‘The employee was injured in a fall at the site’s coal washery,’ Glencore says.
The worker is said to be in a serious but stable condition at Townsville Hospital.
The Mines Inspectorate has been notified. They are also investigating the death at Barabala.
That fatality follows the death of excavator operator David Routledge late last month after a wall collapsed at Middlemount Coal Mine.
CFMEU Queensland mining and energy president Steve Smyth said there needs to be a serious safety reassessment
The incident marks Queensland’s fourth mining death in just six months raising concern over workplace safety in the industry.
In late June, miner David Routledge was killed at an accident at Middlemount Coal Mine while operating a digger.
He is understood to have been on a shelf of the mine before the wall collapsed and trapped its operator.
A 49-year-old miner for BHP Billiton died on New Year’s Eve after a dozer at the Saraji Mine rolled over.
Bradley Hardwick, 47, was killed at Queensland’s Moranbah north mine in February after the grader he was driving collided with a personnel carrier.