It’s been revealed that Webuild, who’ve been selected to tender for the Macquarie Point stadium, are facing a second set of criminal charges in NSW for an incident which nearly killed three workers. It raises yet more concerns about why the company’s bid for the Macquarie Point stadium is being allowed to continue.
Webuild were already facing criminal charges from SafeWork NSW for risking workers’ lives on the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project. Now it’s been revealed they’re facing a second set of criminal charges for a separate incident on the project which nearly killed three workers.
According to SafeWork NSW, three men were performing maintenance underneath a concrete agitator truck when it fell from its lifts, with the workers narrowly escaping. SafeWork NSW have said Webuild exposed these workers to risk of serious injury or death by failing to have the proper procedures in place around the use of the lifts.
These cases aren’t the first allegations Webuild have faced over poor safety practises. On the Perth Airport Link project, the company was fined $350,000 by WorkSafe WA for incidents which resulted in every bone in a worker’s face being broken and a worker suffering electrical burns to 38% of his body.
These serious safety allegations only add to the long list of concerns over Webuild’s bid for the Macquarie Point stadium. Tasmanians need to be able to trust the company delivering this project, especially on the matter of keeping our workers safe.
Whether or not you support the stadium, surely everyone can agree this isn’t the type of company that should be considered for the biggest infrastructure project in Tasmania’s history. Webuild’s stadium bid must be terminated.
