In response to the Ballarat Gold Mine rockfall that killed one worker and seriously injured another WorkSafe has charged two companies with breaches of s.21 of the OHS Act for failing to provide or maintain a safe working environment.
Thirty mine workers were underground when the collapse occurred in March 2024. 37 year-old Kurt Hourigan was killed and his 21 year-old workmate sustained life threatening injuries in this entirely preventable incident. The two men were pinned by rocks when unsupported ground gave way 500m underground and about 3km from the mine entrance. The 29 remaining workers made it to an underground safety pod and were brought to the surface uninjured.
Workers at the mine and the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) had long been raising alarms about the mining practices at Ballarat Mine, particularly the use of the dangerous manual drilling technique known as “air legging”. The technique should be used only for inserting anchors in rock or conducting investigation activities, but in this case it was being used to actually create a tunnel to work into. Mine operators had been alerted to the dangers of the practices of air legging and working beneath unsupported ground, but no changes were made to the work process.
At the time of the incident Australian Workers Union state secretary Ronnie Hayden said his union would push for the industrial manslaughter laws to be used. “Since industrial manslaughter laws have come in, we’ve had 169 Victorians killed at work. This year we’ve had 12 Victorians killed at work,” he said. “In the time since these laws have come in, we’ve had one prosecution. This is not acceptable. There’s no point creating laws to protect workers if we don’t use those laws. Our members are angry.”
Victory Minerals Pty Ltd and Carr Mining Services Pty Ltd each face two charges under section 21(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to provide or maintain a safe working environment.
WorkSafe alleges both companies breached section 21(2)(a) of the OHS Act by failing to provide a safe system of work that required ground support to be installed in the section of the mine where the air leg mining works were occurring. It is further alleged both companies breached section 21(2)(e) of the OHS Act by failing to supervise workers to ensure adequate ground supports were installed in the section of the mine during its development.
The AWU’s Hayden described the charges as an "important first step" but said "section-21 prosecutions alone are not enough when a worker is killed due to clear negligence", and this case demands stronger action.
The AWU’s Victorian Branch President Ross Kenna said “The AWU is happy that charges have been made against both Carr Mining and Victory Minerals in this case. We believe that there was negligence from both companies that led to this fatality. However, we don’t believe that the s.21 charges are the only ones that should be laid – we believe that there is sufficient evidence to justify industrial manslaughter charges for the directors involved. If the facts around this fatality are not enough to send a director to jail, then the laws are not good enough and need to change.”
Read more: WorkSafe charges mining companies after fatal rock fall | WorkSafe Victoria
Ballarat Gold Mine operators charged over 2024 rockfall that killed miner Kurt Hourigan - ABC News