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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-04-04 Daily Xml
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INTERNATIONAL WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:52): My question is to the Minister for Industrial Relations. Will the minister please advise the council about International Workers Memorial Day, which is an important occasion to commemorate those who have lost their lives at work?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for her very important question. Quite rightly, International Workers Memorial Day is a very important day on the working person's calendar. International Workers Memorial Day will be commemorated across the country and around the world on 28 April. The day is an important occasion to remember and honour those who have lost their lives or were seriously injured while at work.

In South Australia, a commemorative service will be held at 10.30 am on Saturday 28 April 2012 at the Pilgrim Uniting Church, located at 12 Flinders Street, Adelaide. This service is open to anyone, regardless of their faith or beliefs, and will feature a candle-lighting ceremony, a symbolic dove release and a memorial balloon release, which all service as a powerful reminder of why safety must be the most important consideration in every workplace.

National statistics confirm the importance of raising community awareness on workplace safety, with the most recent figures from Safe Work Australia indicating that approximately 130,000 people were seriously injured at work, while more than 200 died from work-related injuries and illness in 2009-10 alone. These fatalities and injuries do not just affect the worker, but also the family, friends and loved ones left behind. Whether it is to grieve or to help with rehabilitation and the road to recovery, it is an emotional and tumultuous time for anyone close by.

We all know that any injury or death in the workplace is one too many. It is against this background of emotional trauma experienced by victims, and their families, of workplace death, that this government remains committed to reducing unnecessary workplace injury by establishing a strong legislative framework through new and improved laws and the compliance efforts of the regulator, SafeWork SA. An important community commemoration, such as South Australia's service to mark International Workers Memorial Day, cannot be undertaken without the hard work of SA Unions, SafeWork SA, Voice of Industrial Death and others who come together each year to contribute to and organise this day.

In particular, I thank Ms Janet Giles and Ms Andrea Madeley (who herself had to live through the tragedy of a workplace death) for their tireless commitment to workplace safety in South Australia. International Workers Memorial Day is an important day to remember our mates who lost their lives or who have been touched as a result of a workplace accident. I encourage all members of parliament to join me in attending a memorial service on 28 April.

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