Getty Images
According to news.com.au, a review commissioned after 2016’s Dreamworld tragedy has prompted a change in laws surrounding the workplace safety.
Popular rides at theme parks need lower inspections than cranes; the state government’s recently published review of Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) regulations also found.
Following the death of four people on Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids ride and a fatal workplace accident at Eagle Farm racecourse last year, the review was commissioned and it has since highlighted a number of public safety issues at these facilities.
The government was prompted to create industrial manslaughter laws which will hold corporations and negligent individuals responsible for any wrongful deaths.
But Dreamworld isn’t the only theme park to be looked at. The review found some rides at school fetes and local shows were 30-years-old and aren’t required to any extreme inspection requirements.
The report has identified “poor mechanical integrity and lack of modern safety control measures” as a “significant concern” for these rides that are old.
“High turnover of operators (especially for mobile amusement devices at smaller shows) and lack of effective operator training are significant contributing factors to amusement device incidents,” the report also noted.
“Under our proposed laws, the maximum penalty for industrial manslaughter is said to be 20 years imprisonment for an individual, with a maximum fine of $10 million for a corporate offender,” explained Queensland’s Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace in a statement.
“Importantly, companies won’t be able to hide behind elaborate corporate structures to evade their responsibilities.”
The new law comes alongside stricter maintenance, inspection, and operation requirements for ride operators in the state.
Ms Grace reveals that the stronger penalties will deter operators from cutting corners with regards to workplace safety.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
