Our thoughts are with the families and coworkers of a miner who died and another who is fighting for his life following a collapse at the Ballarat Gold Mine in Mount Clear.
Thirty people were working approximately 3km from the mine entrance in Victoria’s Goldfields region when the incident occurred around 4.50pm last Wednesday.
While 28 miners made it to a ‘safety pod’ inside the mine and were eventually brought to the surface uninjured, two workers were pinned by fallen rocks about 500 meters underground.
One of the men, a 21-year-old from Ballarat, was freed on Wednesday night and flown to the Alfred hospital in Melbourne, where he remains in critical condition.
The other man, a 37-year-old from Bruthen in East Gippsland, sadly died.
The AWU subsequently released a statement calling for time to grieve, but also timely justice.
With one young father killed and another fighting for his life, it’s unsurprising debate over Australia's industrial manslaughter laws has been reignited.