Rodney Dale Morrison v Oakbridge Pty Limited & Ors [2008] NSWIRComm 85

Industrial Court of New South Wales

CITATION: Rodney Dale Morrison v Oakbridge Pty Limited & Ors [2008] NSWIRComm 85

Prosecutor: Rodney Dale Morrison PARTIES: First Defendant: Oakbridge Pty Limited Second Defendant: The Wallerawang Collieries Limited

FILE NUMBER(S): IRC5056; IRC5057; IRC5058; IRC5060 of 2003

CORAM: Kavanagh J

CATCHWORDS: Two defendants - each charged with breaches of s8(1) and s8(2) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 - by the authority of s106(1)(d) of the Act - mining accident - failure to ensure longwall face secured during shotfiring - rock content in cliff face - recognised procedure for safety not implemented - fatality - deterrence - subjective factors - totality - parity - penalty imposed

LEGISLATION CITED: Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 s8(1)&(2),s106(1)(d)

Capral Aluminium Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (2000) 49 NSWLR 610 Inspector Hannah v Wonar Pty Limited (unreported, Fisher CJ, CT1214 of 1990 dated 30 June 1992) Inspector Nguyen v Western Sydney Area Health Service [2003] NSWIRComm 268 CASES CITED: Lawrenson Diecasting Pty Ltd v WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Ch'ng) (1999) 90 IR 464 Markarian v R (2005) 215 ALR 213 Newcastle Wallsend Coal Company Pty Limited & Ors v Stephen Finlay McMartin [2006] NSWIRComm 339 R v Thomson; R v Houlton (2000) 49 NSWLR 383 WorkCover Authority of New South Wales (Inspector Barbosa) v McDonalds Australia Ltd (2003) 125 IR 270