Glossop will rise again
NO DOUBT by now you’ve seen the news about the devastating fire that has rocked the small town of Glossop.
I am the production manager at Upper Murray Case Supplies and I have to say it’s been a heck of a ride.
After we heard the news and witnessed the devastation, there was that inevitable question of ‘What now?’.
However, the crew has a sense of resilience rarely found in many places and their dedication to ensure Upper Murray Case Supplies and Bob’s Barn resume operation sooner rather than later is a credit to them.
That’s not to say this disaster hasn’t affected us in some way.
The boys that work here were focused on becoming bigger and better every day they turned up for work, and I think it’s this that has hurt them the most: the concept of restarting.
The breeze-way and all current stock was saved by the fire crews and my sincere thanks goes out to them.
It’s because of them and the determination of this crew that we were able to resume operation within 30 hours of the fire taking hold.
Currently we are looking at maintaining customer orders and although Bob’s Barn may take a while yet to get operational, optimism is definitely there.
The community throughout the region has been phenomenal and I think it’s because of that spirit alone we’ve been able to find another gear to press on.
So, I guess with all the turmoil of the blaze and Glossop Steel pulling the pin, a disaster like this has seen a fantastic revival of raw human spirit and emotion.
Like the phoenix re-emerging from a blaze, the heart and soul of Glossop will continue to beat for many years to come.
PHILLIP GOLDSPINK
Production manager
Upper Murray Case Supplies
Glossop
Collapsed Murray deal
MONEY EARMARKED for returning water to the Murray-Darling Basin has started flowing towards an unrelated project offering no such benefit.
In response to my questions through Senate Estimates, the Gillard Government has confirmed it has begun handing over $20 million to the New South Wales Government for the Orange pipeline, despite the collapse of the agreement under which it was committed.
The $20 million in federal funding was agreed as part of a July 2010 pre-election Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), principally about funding the re-engineering of the Menindee Lakes water storage in New South Wales.
The Federal Department’s own website indicates the MOU has ceased to have effect, but the $20 million is still coming out of the $400 million that has long been earmarked to fix Menindee Lakes.
The Menindee Lakes project has the potential to achieve 200 billion litres in water savings for both irrigators and the environment and has become a Labor broken election promise from both the 2007 and 2010 campaigns.
Julia Gillard’s failure to make the Orange pipeline funding conditional on any Menindee progress means her 2010 broken promise has left her Government handing over taxpayer money that should be returning water to the Murray but isn’t.
If this pipeline project was worth funding, then it was worth doing separately to any agreement on Menindee Lakes, let alone an agreement that has collapsed in all other aspects.
This project might well be of great benefit to the people of Orange, but Julia Gillard should be red-faced at her deal-making that’s left Australian taxpayers footing a bill for far less than the intended value for money.
SENATOR SIMON BIRMINGHAM
Liberal Senator for South Australia
Coalition Basin spokesperson
Adelaide
Volunteer claims alarmist
I AM concerned over recent media reports regarding volunteers and the new Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws.
Inaccurate and alarmist claims made about the new WHS laws could seriously discourage volunteers and potential volunteers from undertaking volunteer work.
The new WHS laws will not apply to every volunteering activity or organisation.
They apply if a volunteer organisation employs staff as well as volunteers to carry out work for the organisation.
This isn’t new – this was the case even in the old state schemes and it makes sense. In three states and territories, Queensland, the Northern Territory and the ACT, occupational health and safety legislation (OHS) already specifically applied to volunteers – this hasn’t changed.
In all the other jurisdictions, the protections afforded by OHS legislation also applied to volunteers at workplaces.
The new WHS laws do not, for example apply to the local junior football club run entirely by volunteers or to any community group which does not have any employees.
For those volunteer organisations and volunteers which are covered, there is an overall duty on volunteers to take care in the workplace.
However, the duty to ensure a safe workplace remains the primary duty of the employer or person conducting a business or undertaking. – not the volunteer.
Importantly, there is unlikely to be a prosecution of a volunteer except in the most serious and exceptional of circumstances.
Volunteering Australia supports the national harmonisation of OHS laws.
The new WHS laws ensure that volunteers receive the highest level of protection wherever they perform their work across Australia consistent with the protections provided to all workers.
Further information on volunteers and the new WHS laws, including FAQs and fact sheets, is available from
www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
TOM PHILLIPS
Chair
Safe Work Australia
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