Tasmania’s Labor Opposition has again been urged to support a Workplaces Protection Bill being introduced into the State’s Legislative Council next week. Tasmania’s Resources Minister Guy Barnett said that this year there had been a significant escalation in threatening radical protest actions from extremist groups. Source: Timberbiz
“Unfortunately, on a regular basis, Tasmanians are being threatened and harassed for simply going about their legal or everyday work,” he said.
“The BBF is the radical arm of the Greens and Tasmanians have had enough. All our productive industries are at risk. Yes, enough is enough.
“These ongoing and threatening protests and work site invasions is why our Workplaces Protection Bill should be supported when it is debated in the Legislative Council next week.
“These radical green protest actions stop Tasmanians from working and business from operating. They create maximum distress and disruption, are designed to attract media attention and drive donations from inner city benefactors in Sydney and Melbourne.”
He said Shadow Minister for Resources, Shane Broad had feigned his support for industry from workplace invasions in Parliament, but so far has refused to support our Bill.
Mr Barnett said that similar legislation had been passed across Australia with Labor Party support including in the federal parliament and in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
The Liberals would need the support of Labor to get the legislation passed in the upper house.
But Dr Broad claimed this week it was the Attorney General Elise Archer who had washed her hands of the issue.
“Today (Thursday) in Parliament I gave Elise Archer an opportunity to stand up for our timber industry and commit to enforcing Tasmania’s work health and safety laws to bring the Bob Brown Foundation’s dangerous protests to an end.” Dr Broad said.
“Instead, she refused to lift a finger and effectively turned her back on this vital industry for Tasmania.
“The Bob Brown Foundation continue to hinder the legitimate activities of the Tasmanian timber industry in their never-ending quest to end all native forestry in Tasmania,” Dr Broad said.
“Time and time again we have seen dangerous stunts for social media that include standing on loose log piles for photos, locking on to moving machinery and doing tree sits in remnant trees in logged coupes.
“These activities are all incredibly dangerous and could easily lead to the serious injury or death of protestors,” he said.
“As a result, there have been at least a dozen notifications to WorkSafe Tasmania by respected members of the timber industry including contractors, Britton Timbers and even Sustainable Timbers Tasmania, yet no charges have been laid.”
But Ms Archer said Dr Broad clearly did not understand that Tasmania’s independent Work Health and Safety Regulator undertakes compliance monitoring, incident response and education activities, and investigation and enforcement, to ensure safe workplaces throughout Tasmania.
She said that notifiable incidents and complaints received under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 were inspected by WorkSafe Tasmania where there was a potential serious breach or an imminent or immediate risk to the health and safety of persons within the workplace. Investigations were undertaken where there may be serious beaches of the Act.
“As Minister, I have no role in that process,” she said.
