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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 3 Hansard (23 October) . . Page.. 4133 ..
2002: 55 workers compensation claims were accepted by Comcare relating to psychological injuries that occurred during the 2002 calendar year. 26 of these claims are still open.
2003: To date, 30 workers compensation claims have been accepted by Comcare relating to psychological injuries that occurred during the 2003 calendar year. 22 of these claims are still open.
Canberra Airport-maintenance hangar collapse
(Question No 987)
Mr Pratt
asked the Minister for Industrial Relations, upon notice, on 25 September 2003:In relation to the collapse of the maintenance hangar at the Canberra Airport:
Has ACT WorkCover completed its investigation of the incident as yet;
If so, will it publish a report and will this report be tabled in the Assembly. If not, when will the report be completed and will a copy be available for interested parties;
Is WorkCover liaising with the project manager, Strarch International, about obtaining a copy of the report that it is preparing;
If so, what has been the outcome of the negotiations. If not, why not.
Ms Gallagher: The answer to the member's question is as follows:
This is a complex investigation. The Occupational Health and Safety Commissioner advises that some elements of the investigation have been completed, while others are continuing.
WorkCover will not publish a report. WorkCover is required to investigate whether there have been breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1989 (OHS Act), collect evidence of any breaches and provide this to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Information collected by WorkCover during its investigation will be made available to the public during legal proceedings if individuals are charged with breaches of the OHS Act. It would be improper, and would jeopardize potential prosecutions, to provide information about WorkCover's investigations to the Legislative Assembly, just as it would be improper for the police to provide details of their investigations to the public before charges are laid.
In relation to the rebuilding process, where there are safety matters arising from the investigation that are relevant to the rebuilding, the Occupational Health and Safety Commissioner advises that these are being addressed directly with the relevant parties.
A number of the parties have provided information to WorkCover as part of the investigation process. It would be inappropriate to comment on the actions or involvement of any particular party involved in the investigation.
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