Work Health and Safety

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:44): My question is to the Deputy Premier and the Minister for Industrial Relations. Minister, how is the government improving worker safety in the state's automotive industry?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:44): Given the nature of automotive work, there is a risk of people sustaining manual handling injuries, injuries from vehicles falling—

The Hon. J.M. Rankine interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Wright is called to order.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: —injuries from vehicles falling from hoists or jacks, tires exploding during inflation, being hit by passing cars while carrying out roadside work or the long-term effects of breathing in fumes from vehicles and solvents.

Ms Chapman: What about slipping down the stairs at the Supreme Court?

The SPEAKER: Well, there wouldn't have been any slipping down the stairs if they had accepted my offer of a new court building on the eastern side of Victoria Square, but they didn't want to walk over Victoria Square.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Okay, after that distracting interjection, all the risks, that I mentioned anyway can be managed. Apprentices and young workers can be particularly vulnerable at an increased risk of injury due to their lack of experience, maturity and awareness while they are developing their skills, competencies and physical capabilities. Many can also be unclear about their work health and safety responsibilities.

To help many small businesses and their workers better manage their work health and safety responsibilities, SafeWork SA has been visiting automotive workshops across the state to provide advice about work health and safety issues. These visits aim to promote strategies to better manage workplace hazards, and to avoid accidents and injury across the sector.

As part of this campaign, SafeWork SA has visited more than 60 auto workshops, 90 per cent of which employ apprentices or trainees. SafeWork SA has provided information assistance and support to ensure owners and employers understand their obligations to provide safe work environments, particularly safety inductions, training and supervision, safe use of vehicle hoists and chemical use and storage. This engagement work has allowed SafeWork SA to gain a better understanding of what businesses in this sector need.

A practical outcome is that SafeWork SA has been working with the Motor Trade Association, the group training association, the RAA, the AWU and companies such as Saints Tyre and Auto to develop an automotive workshop safety handbook which will be another resource tool for the whole industry to use. I look forward to following the progress of this initiative and seeing the benefits it will bring to the South Australian automotive industry.