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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-03 Daily Xml
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SAFE WORK AWARDS

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Industrial Relations. Will the minister provide the chamber with details of the recent seventh annual Safe Work Australia Awards?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:56): I thank the honourable member for his question and also acknowledge the many years that the Hon. Mr Kandelaars spent looking after the health and welfare of his members working in the telecommunications industry. I was honoured to attend this year's seventh annual Safe Work Australia Awards on Thursday 26 April at Parliament House in Canberra, along with the South Australian finalists: the University of Adelaide, Adelaide Shores, the Hub Fruit Bowl and Mr Dusty Hurst. These annual awards acknowledge the excellence in work health and safety at a government, organisational and individual level. They are the renowned national platform for recognising outstanding contributions to work health and safety in Australia.

This year 37 finalists across Australia were acknowledged in their efforts to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and disease in Australian workplaces. South Australian finalists earnt their places in the national awards by virtue of their success at last year's Safe Work awards. I am pleased to advise that South Australia again had a winner in one of the six categories presented on the night. The Hub Fruit Bowl won the best workplace health and safety practices in a small business category. This award recognises a very high standard of workplace health and safety practices in a small business.

The Hub Fruit Bowl is a fresh fruit and vegetables retail outlet located within the Hub Shopping Centre at Aberfoyle Park. Following an expansion and refurbishment of the Hub Fruit Bowl in 2008, it became clear to management that existing work health and safety procedures could be improved to cope with increasing employee numbers and customer traffic. Using the SafeWork SA small business safety pack as a foundation, the Hub Fruit Bowl developed and implemented a comprehensive safety system, covering a multitude of situations, such as spills, electrical hazards, hold-ups and evacuations.

With their safety systems in place, the Hub Fruit Bowl is a more cohesive workplace, where everyone has common safety goals. Workers are properly trained and encouraged to ask questions and report hazards. Their proactive approach to safety ensures workers, customers and visitors can be confident that they are in a healthy and safe environment when in the store. I was delighted to visit the Hub Fruit Bowl this morning and have a chat with John and Judy Peresano, the owners, as well as Holly, one of the shop assistants. I would like to acknowledge their professionalism and strong commitment to workplace safety. The store itself was very impressive, with a great variety of fresh produce and helpful staff. Again, I commend them for their victory in Canberra last week.

South Australia has a proud history of achievement at a national level, also collecting three awards last year. These awards provide an ideal platform to recognise the important work that organisations and individuals are doing to make work health and safety a top priority in their workplace. Applications are still open to apply for this year's state Safe Work Awards, which will be presented at a gala dinner on 26 October 2012.

I would encourage any individual or organisation that has made a commitment to achieving positive occupational health and safety outcomes in their workplaces to consider an entry in this year's Safe Work Awards. Applications close on 13 July 2012, and further details are available on the SafeWork SA website. The Hub Fruit Bowl initiative is an excellent example of what can be achieved with an organisation-wide commitment to safety in the workplace. Let us hope we can see even more South Australian winners at the national awards next year.

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