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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-02-24 Daily Xml
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Parliamentary Committee on Occupational Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation

Ms COOK (Fisher) (11:03): I move:

That the 22nd report of the committee be noted.

In November last year, the committee visited the magnificent Riverland region to develop a deeper and more widespread appreciation of things affecting the region, particularly in relation to work health and safety. The Riverland comprises Berri, Barmera, Renmark, Monash, Glossop, and many smaller townships along the Murray River, which is a tourist mecca for water sports, leisurely walks and enjoying natural wildlife, or wine tasting at the cellar doors.

The region grows about half of South Australia's grapes, and more than 90 per cent of citrus and stone fruit. The horticulture, viticulture and agriculture industries within the Riverland are the largest employers in the area. It was our privilege to visit with some of those businesses, which included Accolade Wines, Almondco, Costa Exchange and also the Riverland General Hospital.

Our visit occurred at the same time as the Pinery fires, which meant that the member for Schubert was unable to attend as planned. The devastating fires caused the loss of two lives and affected more than 2,500 people. Thousands of livestock were killed and many homes, businesses and outbuildings were lost. Our thoughts were with the member for Schubert and his family throughout the entire trip. Fortunately, we were able to bypass the fire and we arrived safely into Berri, but the smoke was a constant reminder of the situation facing many in the Pinery region.

The committee's first site visit was to Accolade Wines, which is located in Berri. It is the largest wine company by volume for the United Kingdom and Australian markets. Accolade Wines began as a cooperative in 1928 and is now the largest winemaking facility in the southern hemisphere. It has seven winery sites in four states, with the Berri site having a crush capacity of 220,000 tonnes and storage tanks of over 263 million litres. That is equivalent to 350 million bottles, which is more than this parliament could consume in a year, I am sure!

We were privileged to climb to the top of those tanks and, whilst the view was spectacular, it also provided a perspective on the enormous expanse of the site. Accolade Wines has a further presence in Reynella, which is just on the border of my electorate of Fisher and also that of Mitchell. They have a presence in Chile, South Africa and California, as well as New Zealand, and export over 100 million litres to more than 140 countries.

The company employs 280 people at their Berri site, and I believe it is around about that also at their Reynella site. Many of these are family groups in roles such as laboratory technicians, cleaners and production staff. During vintage, which is about eight to 12 weeks each year, a further 150 casuals are employed.

The company has a number of health and wellbeing programs in place, which was very pleasing to see, and award programs are also there to promote safety. They include the Safety Leader of the Year, Bright Ideas, and the CEO Safety Award, which recognises an individual who contributes to safety innovation. They provide health screening to staff and a pedometer challenge. The company developed safety innovations to eliminate the need for staff to enter a confined space. These included the development of vacuum tanks and a Cleaning in Place system. The only reason now to enter the confined space is in order to repair any tank seals.

The committee next toured Costa Exchange, a citrus facility in Renmark, where mainly navel oranges are grown and picked for distribution within Australia and exported to countries like the USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Costa Group began as a small family company in 1938 and has since expanded into farming mushrooms, blueberries and raspberries. It grows D'Vine Ripe tomatoes in Virginia and glasshouse tomatoes also in New South Wales. It has farms in all states and supplies fruit and vegetables to the large supermarket chains. Costa not only farms, packs and exports fruit and vegetables, it also designs, sells and advises on irrigation equipment.

Sixteen per cent of Australian citrus products, which include oranges, mandarins, lemons and tangerines, are grown in the Riverland. Australia's main export market for citrus is Japan. Costa Exchange employs 100 casuals and, during harvest time (May to November) which becomes problematic for them, these ranks swell to over 800 casuals, mainly involved in fruit picking.

Many backpackers are attracted to the Riverland for seasonal work, and this can present problems with language, induction and supervision. The induction, which is delivered to about 3,000 people, needs to be delivered in up to 10 different languages. Their safety focus is on workplace culture and encouraging good behaviour and early reporting of hazards. Just to clarify, there are 800 there at once, but this may be several people doing one position over a season.

The company was recently acknowledged at the South Australian Food Industry Awards by winning the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science Industry Skills Development Recognition Award and was a finalist in the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Education Foundation of South Australia Best Practice Award.

The committee's next tour was of Almondco in Renmark. This began as a cottage industry in the early 20th century. A trip to California to explore almond growing as a commercial business revealed how production could be improved through irrigation and nutrition. Almondco now produces 80,000 metric tonnes of almonds, which is a 6 per cent global growth over eight years.

Australia is second only to California, which is the biggest almond producing location in the world, and we export 75 per cent of our produce to 40 different countries around the world, India being the largest importer. It is incredible that almonds are worth more than $1 billion to the South Australian economy alone. The biggest risk to the industry is to its reputation if things go wrong, such as almonds being affected by salmonella, chemicals and pathogens. For this reason Almondco received a state government grant of $1.9 million to assist with the installation of a new high-tech pasteurisation system. The system provides Almondco with a competitive advantage, because food manufacturers prefer the safety and security of Almondco's product.

The system created $120 million in new business in the first two years of operation, a great investment. Fifteen years ago Almondco employed 50 staff and now they employ 350 staff, so they have seen the value in improving their operations and safety system for workers. Inclusion of more robots to reduce manual handling, and elevated platforms that allow workers to sit or stand when sorting the almonds, are just two examples of the systems that have been introduced. Incredibly, I found it quite poignant that these workers were really happy when they were doing quite a repetitive task because they were being well looked after. Considerations around safety now inform a large part of the management reports.

The last site visit that the committee undertook was to the Berri Regional Health Service. The committee was greeted by the acting regional manager and her senior staff. The executive director workforce and the acting manager of injury management also joined us via a video link. Videoconferencing is an important tool, which assists the health service to connect with specialists in the city when needed.

The health service is an impressive 32-bed hospital that provides comprehensive medical and surgical services to the Riverland community and employs 140 staff, including nurses, maintenance and allied health workers, as well as administrators. There is a six-bed mental health ward, which is the least restrictive for consumers, and there has only been one incident of aggression since the unit opened.

The committee learnt about the relationship between patient safety and quality and staff safety, which, we were advised, is an integral part of the health services system of care. Manual handling is the focus of attention as well, as is employee wellness, employee assistance and prevention of blood and body fluid exposure and management. There are a number of pro-active campaigns in place to encourage a positive workplace culture. Early intervention is the key to their return-to-work program, and psychological injuries are managed through a multi-disciplinary team, and use of videoconferencing as well for specialist psychiatric advice.

The health service reported that their emergency department is experiencing increased frequency of aggressive incidents due to illicit drugs. This is no different than in the city. To address this concern they have a code black team in place, increased security staff and hard-wired duress alarms, as well as an increase in staff training.

Prior to leaving the Riverland the committee met with SafeWork SA at its regional office in Berri. The office currently is staffed by only one person; it seems to have a huge workload. We learnt of the safety concerns of the region, which included refugee safety. Some refugees have never seen or worked with machinery, and their anthropometry (which is the size and proportion of their bodies) may differ to that of Australians, which means that they may put their arms into dangerous machinery to attempt to unblock it.

Contractors are an issue, as it is easy to become a contractor, but migrants usually do not have a good understanding of our safety laws. There are many small to medium enterprises in the Riverland that largely employ family members, and they have been known to purchase unsafe or unguarded equipment, and imported machinery may contain asbestos or require a risk assessment to make it safe before use. They also oversee hazardous substances, which includes the monitoring of the use of such by chicken farmers and other farmers in the Riverland, and this is an ongoing responsibility of SafeWork SA. Then, of course, we have farm machinery. Some farm machinery, such as bailers are quite dangerous, but farmers are reluctant to take advice or change their habits. The CWA is a useful vehicle for providing advice to farmers.

While SafeWork SA did not raise a concern about drugs in the workplace, all the employers that we met did. They have all introduced drug and alcohol policies and most are drug testing workers, only to find that methamphetamines are rife in the community, and workers who are detected as being under the influence do not seem to recognise the harm.

Police reports indicate that, only as recently as a few days ago, several people in the Riverland were arrested for trafficking large amounts of these illegal drugs. The challenges of distance, precarious employment for many workers and lifestyle decisions that do not align with legal and policy requirements for a safe workplace are problematic for employers who want a reliable and safe workplace.

It was unfortunate, at the time, that we could not meet up with the member for Chaffey during the visit, but it would be great to do that on another occasion. The Hon. Steph Key and the Hon. John Dawkins from the other place had parliamentary commitments and were unable to attend on this visit and, as we said, the member for Schubert was looking forward to visiting, but the Pinery fire prevented him from doing so.

The committee has, as a consequence, made two recommendations from this report, and the first relates to the use of illicit drugs and its impact on businesses. It may be useful to undertake an inquiry into this particular matter in the future. The second relates to staffing at the SafeWork SA regional office, which the committee is concerned is below that needed to effectively provide education, information and enforcement services for work health and safety in the region.

I would like to thank the managers, staff, people of the Riverland and all the businesses we visited for welcoming us and providing us with an opportunity to gain a deep and more widespread appreciation of things affecting the region, particularly in relation to work health and safety.

I, personally, was particularly impressed with the improvements that have been made to Riverland health, having travelled there many times over the past 20 years as part of my work. I am very proud of the work that we have done with the investment into the Riverland hospital. My thanks go also to the committee's executive officer, Ms Sue Sedivy, for helping to organise this valuable and informative regional field trip.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (11:16): I will just make a very small contribution to the 22nd report of the Parliamentary Committee on Occupational Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation and its recent trip to the Riverland. I was very happy to see that committee head up to the Riverland to have a look around and gain a better understanding of exactly what the Riverland region offers the state's economy and what its contribution is to the bottom line.

One of the businesses that was visited, Accolade, is the largest winery in the Southern Hemisphere. Costa Exchange is a great employer. It is a grower, packer and marketer of citrus in South Australia and they do a great job. Yes, they do predominantly grow and package navels, but that is rapidly being overtaken with newer varieties, particularly easy-peels, mandarins and some of the new varieties of lemons, limes and, to a lesser degree now than was always historically picked, valencias.

Obviously, we have seen a demise within that industry with international competition from cheap juice imports that have forced that industry to restructure, which now means that our region, the region of Chaffey, has to employ a lot more staff on the ground, particularly with picking because, as most would know, citrus is handpicked and not machine picked, unlike almonds and wine grapes.

It is a growing concern that we are having to outsource employment, whether it is from backpackers or employment programs. What we are seeing with an increased level of hands-on employment are issues with repetitive strain injuries. We are seeing a lot more focus on having to train staff who are coming to the region for a short period of time. We have seen the decline of the seasonal worker coming into that region and handpicking grapes with the technology that comes with the wine industry now, particularly with machines picking grapes. I have a bit of an understanding of this, being a citrus grower, as well as a wine grape grower and a vegetable grower, in my previous life.

Being able to source good, reliable trained staff is something that is becoming more and more difficult in today's climate when it comes to regulation and particularly training those staff for short amounts of time and making sure that they are adequately trained and working in a safe environment. Obviously, Almondco is a world-class facility, and I am very proud of that facility. It is a co-op; it is one of the largest co-ops in the country, as is one of the suppliers of Accolade, the CCW co-op that come to the fore of a large supply agreement with the Accolade wine company.

I just would like to touch on, if I could, the regional hospital. The regional hospital recently received a $36 million upgrade, which was much needed. Sadly, that upgrade was downgraded along the way, with the previous health minister, the Hon. Mr Hill, who saw fit to reduce the budget on that upgrade. But it was an upgrade that was much appreciated by the community and much needed by the community. Sadly, we are seeing a focus taken away from the other hospitals in the neighbouring towns at Waikerie, Barmera, Renmark and Loxton, and to a degree in the Mallee as well. They are also feeling the pressure with staff shortages. What we are seeing is that programs and services are being in a certain way restricted.

Drugs in a workplace is a major issue in the electorate. As the member for Fisher has highlighted, there were two issues particularly with the regional hospital: drugs in the workplace and also staffing at SafeWork SA. I want to touch just quickly on drugs in the workplace. Obviously, drugs in society today are becoming more prevalent. What we are seeing is that we have a drug issue in South Australia, but it is only half baked in dealing with that.

The hospital is dealing with the detox of drug addiction (users of particularly crystal methamphetamine) and there is great work done by the hospital, the nurses and the doctors, all of the staff within that hospital that are dealing with drugs and addiction, and it does come away and rub off into the workplace. They are dealing with the detox, but once those drug users go back out into the workforce and into society, there is nowhere for them to go. There is nowhere for them to bounce off and nowhere for them to gain support. They are back out into the bad, bad world of the friends or acquaintances that they previously dealt with.

What it is showing us is that there needs to be rehab. The rehab facilities need to be supported, particularly in those outlying areas within the Riverland. I have put suggestions, supported by SAPOL, to the state health minister, the state education minister and the federal health minister, and it just does not seem to be gaining any form of traction when we are looking at proposals to put in a rehab centre. There are a number of rehab centres in Adelaide and there is a rehab centre at Strathalbyn, but where are the other regional support mechanisms in place?

That is why I think that the regional hospital in the Riverland is really being overrun by reoccurring drug users who come in for detox, spend two or three days in there being detoxed, and are then put back out on the street only to reoffend and then be readmitted back into the hospital. There does need to be a mechanism. Rehabilitation needs to be supported here in South Australia. There is the idea of potentially going out to public consultation—maybe we could re-use one of the schools that have been closed down in the region.

We have had a number of schools over the last couple of years close down, particularly in the Riverland. Sadly, it has been about one a year. At the moment there are 54 schools in the electorate of Chaffey, and one recently closed school at Winkie would have been a perfect facility to be converted, potentially, into a drug rehabilitation centre. It is out of town, it is a little bit isolated, it has good infrastructure and it just really does sit for me that it would be a monty supported by SAPOL, supported by all the drug and alcohol facilities and supported by the families. This concept would be supported by the people who are most affected.

There is something that needs to be put into the melting pot. We cannot have a government that just keeps on ignoring this crystal methamphetamine use here in South Australia. It is a growing concern. We have seen in recent days where a mother was detected taking her children to school. She was pulled over and detected to be full of crystal methamphetamine. It is just outrageous to think about the irresponsible people in our society who would do that sort of thing. This is occurring in the morning time, taking kids to school. They are being detected with drugs in them and could be supported by rehab centres.

Before I sit down I will just touch on the staffing at SafeWork SA. It has been an issue in the electorate for a number of years. The resourcing into the SafeWork SA office at Berri has been diminishing. We are down to one staff member, and that staff member is working above and beyond, doing extra hours at no pay, really taking that role on as a personal crusade almost because over-worked, under-resourced seems to be a common theme when it comes to any of the government support departments, particularly in the Riverland.

The member for Fisher has highlighted that it is a concern to her and to the committee that SafeWork SA in the Berri office needs to have more resources. It needs to have more staff so that it can deal with the growing demand, so that it can deal with a growing labour force that is right before us. I thank the committee for visiting the Riverland and I hope that it had an enjoyable time.

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