SAFE WORK AWARDS

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:27): My question is to the Minister for Industrial Relations. Will the minister please provide the chamber with details of nominations for the 2011 Safe Work Awards?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:27): I thank the member for his very important question. As you know, the Labor Party is all about keeping workplaces safe. It is my great pleasure to inform the house that a record 80 nominations have been received for this year's Safe Work Awards in South Australia, a 25 per cent increase on the previous best.

Since 1999, the Safe Work Awards have sought to highlight the fine achievements of South Australians in occupational health, safety and welfare. The awards have grown dramatically in stature since then as community expectations of workplace safety have risen and employers realise that a commitment to safe work reaps benefits in productivity, morale and status as an employer of choice. This new record of 80 nominations can well be seen as a major endorsement of the value of the awards.

It was always intended that the Safe Work Awards be recognised as a pinnacle of achievement in workplace safety, and the judging process as a means of benchmarking safety performance. One previous winner and a major player in the resources industry said in 2008 that it was a better company for the experience of entering the Safe Work Awards. This outstanding number of nominations shows how seriously South Australian workplaces regard their safety performance and how keen they are to put themselves to the test.

All businesses large and small have great demands on their time and resources, so the fact that so many entrants made the time and effort to enter the Safe Work Awards is a testament to their commitment to South Australia's Strategic Plan target of safer workplaces. As has been the case in previous years, the category of Best Solution to an Identified Workplace Health and Safety Issue is the most popular, attracting 37 nominations. This category highlights the innovative and collaborative solutions applied in South Australian workplaces to safety issues.

There are 20 nominations for Best Individual Contribution to Workplace Health and Safety, and this figure illustrates how some individuals are leading workplace safety. Thirteen of this year's entrants are from regional areas of the state, and I applaud their initiative in stepping up to the challenge. The judging panel, consisting of representatives from SafeWork SA, WorkCover SA, SA Unions and Business SA, will evaluate the finalists, which will include site visits and performance checks through SafeWork SA and WorkCover records.

The finalists and winners will then be announced at the awards event at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Friday 28 October, and I look forward to meeting as many of the entrants as possible on that occasion. The South Australian winners are automatically nominated for the national Safe Work Australia Awards the following April. This year we had one national winner, the South Australian Courts Administration Authority, in the category of Best Workplace Health and Safety Management System, Public Sector.

Two other South Australian finalists earned high commendations: Saints Tyre and Auto of Salisbury Plain was highly commended in the category of Best Workplace Health and Safety Practice in Small Business, and Frank Naso was highly commended in the category of Best Individual Contribution to Workplace Health and Safety. Needless to say, we look forward to seeing if the successful entrants from this year's awards can join a growing and illustrious list of South Australian national award winners.