Safety, regulation and the Mines Inspectorate: Lessons from Western Australia

Journal of Occupational Health and Safety - Australia and New Zealand

Volumn 21, Issue 4, 2005, Pages 299-309

  Gunningham, Neil ^a  

^a AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Enforcement; Mining industry; Occupational health and safety; Regulation; Resources

Indexed keywords

AUSTRALIA; HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION; HUMAN; LAW ENFORCEMENT; MINING; OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH; OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE; PUBLIC HEALTH; REVIEW; RISK ASSESSMENT; SAFETY; WORKER;

EID: 33747450484     PISSN: 08156409     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (44)

1. Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000(NSW); Coal Mine Health and Safety Act 2002 (NSW); Mine Health and Safety Act 2004 (NSW); Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld); Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld); Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 and Regulations (WA); and the Mines Safety and Inspection Amendment Act 2004 (WA).
2. Laing, R. Review of the Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994, final report (the Laing Report). Perth: Department of Industry and Resources, January 2003, ch 2.
3. An internal report for the Queensland Government concerning the OHS performance of the Queensland mines inspectorate, authored by Blewett, V, Shaw, A et al, had not been released at the time of publication.
4. Wran, N and McClelland, J. New South Wales mine safety review (the Wran Report). Sydney: Department of Primary Industries, 2005. Website at www.minerals.nsw.gov.au/_data/page/1798/Mine_safety_review_report.pdf.
5. Robens, A (Lord). Report of the committee on safety and health at work, 1970-1972 (the Robens Report). London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1972.
6. Johnstone, R. Occupational health and safety law and policy: text and materials (2nd ed). Sydney: Lawbook Company, 2004, ch 2.
7. Ritter, M. Ministerial inquiry into the occupational health and safety systems and practices of BHP Billiton Iron Ore and Boodarie Iron sites in Western Australia and other related matters ("the Ministerial Inquiry"). Perth: Minister for State Development, November 2004. Website at www.ministers.wa.gov.au/brown/docs/features/BHP_Ministerial_Inquiry_Vol.pdf. Accessed 17 February 2005. It should be noted that the author of the present article was OHS advisor to the Ministerial Inquiry and that the relevant material below is drawn primarily from Appendix 4 (the Gunningham Report). It must be emphasised that in no way does this article draw on any confidential information to which the author was privy.
8. Gunningham, N and Johnstone, R. Regulating workplace safety: systems and sanctions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, ch 2.
9. Baldwin, R, Scott, C and Hood, C. A reader on regulation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, p 15.
10. Department of Industry and Resources. Submission to Ministerial Inquiry, p 18.
11. Laing Report, op cit, para 367.
12. Ministerial Inquiry, op cit, App 4, sections 2.2.3, 3.2.3, 4.2.2, 5.2.2.
13. Department of Industry and Resources. Submission to Ministerial Inquiry, p 55.
14. Laing Report, op cit, para 720.
15. Johnstone, R. Occupational health and safety, courts and crime. Sydney: Federation Press, 2004, p 82.
16. Mines Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Board. Safety behaviour survey of the Western Australian mining industry 2002. Perth: Safety Behaviour Working Party, MOSHAB, 2002.
17. Laing Report, op cit, para 153, 154.
18. Mines Safety Branch. Business plan 2004/05. Perth: Department of Industry and Resources, 2004, p 15.
19. Department of Industry and Resources. Submission to Ministerial Inquiry, p 8.
20. Johnstone, op cit, pp 510-511.
21. Ayres, I and Braithwaite, J. Responsive regulation: transcending the deregulation debate. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, ch 2.
22. Gunningham and Johnstone, op cit, ch 4, 6, 7.
23. Department of Industry and Resources. Enforcement and prosecution policy. Website at www.doir.wa.gov.au/safetyhealthandenvironment/726632F71F06404593BFE3 760495DEB0.asp. Accessed 3 February 2005.
24. Laing Report, op cit, para 764.
25. Ibid, para 771.
26. Wright, M et al. Building an evidence base for the Health and Safety Commission Strategy to 2010 and beyond: a literature review of interventions to improve health and safety compliance. Health and Safety Executive research report 196. Sudbury, UK: HSE Books, 2004.
27. Laing Report, op cit, para 774.
28. Gray, W and Scholz, J. Does regulatory enforcement work? Law and Society Review 1993, 27(1): 177-215, at p 192.
29. Hopkins, A. Making safety work. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1995, p 90, cited in Gunningham and Johnstone, op cit.
30. Shapiro, S and Rabinowitz, R. Punishment versus cooperation in regulatory enforcement: a case study of OSHA. Administrative Law Review 1997, 49(4): 713.
31. Baggs, J, Silverstein, B and Foley, M. Workplace health and safety regulations: impact of enforcement and consultation on workers' compensation claims rates in Washington State. Am J Ind Med 2003, 43(5): 483-494.
32. Laing Report, op cit, para 469.
33. Ibid, para 75.
34. Cullen, WD (Lord). The public inquiry into the Piper Alpha disaster. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1990.
35. Health and Safety Executive. Mining legislation. London. Website at www.hse.gov.uk/mining/legislat.htm. Accessed 7 February 2005.
36. Department of Industry and Resources. Response to the Ministerial Inquiry, p 17.
37. Department of Industry and Resources. Submission to the Ministerial Inquiry, pp 7-8.
38. Department of Industry and Resources, About us: corporate structure. Website at www.doir.wa.gov.au/aboutus/D51363F2CA014057994CB134C8BF1C9D.asp. Accessed 7 February 2005.
39. Laing Report, op cit, para 432.
40. Parker, C. The open corporation: effective self-regulation and democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
41. Torlach, J (summarising the MOSHAB Report): "The mining inspectorate, through its evaluation of project management plans, and the ongoing program of systematic auditing of mining operations, has the capacity to maintain pressure on each enterprise to develop and maintain these fundamental processes [of risk management] at the required levels". Mines Fatalities Enquiry, Western Australia. Opportunities and initiatives.
42. Wilkinson, P. Safety cases: success or failure? National Research Centre Occupational Health and Safety Regulation seminar paper 3. Website at www.ohs.anu.edu.au/publications/pdf/seminar_paper_2.pdf. Accessed 17 February 2005.
43. Victorian WorkCover Authority. Annual report, 1998-99. Melbourne: WorkCover Victoria, 1999, p 19.
44. Laing Report, op cit, para 54.