Suicide death at Gorgon project heart breaking

Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral region Robin Chapple MLC has expressed his deep sadness at the reported suicide death of a worker on Barrow Island yesterday.

“I feel so terribly sad for the family, friends and colleagues of the person who was, I understand, a fly-in fly-out (FIFO) worker for one of the major sub-contractors to Chevron’s Gorgon project,” Mr Chapple said.

“To them I extend my heartfelt condolences.

“A person should be able to go to work and come home in safety; they should not expect to die at work, no matter what the cause or the circumstances. Their families should be able to wave them goodbye secure in the knowledge that they will return at the end of their shift, having been well looked after.

“This death must serve as a wake-up call to the Barnett Government to put better checks and balances, and mental health services, in place to service workers at remote mining and petroleum operations, especially those working in a fly-in fly-out capacity.

“Mining and Petroleum companies have a duty of care to their workers and to the workers of their sub-contractors. Neither they nor the Government should be awarding contracts to businesses whose workplace health and safety policies, procedures and methodology don’t measure up, and these should be under constant review.

“Eight suicides in 12 months in the Pilbara region tells a very bleak story indeed and I’d like to know what steps Minister Morton is taking to address this situation,” Mr Chapple said.

For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255

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