Last May 2 divers (Richard Neely and Allison Dalton) were rescued after a sea and air search. They had gone missing while diving the Whitsundays off Queensland. Yesterday Workplace Health & Safety Queensland (WHSQ) charged the dive operator with breaching the Workplace Health and Safety Act by failing to ensure the safety of the divers. You can read more in the Sydney Morning Herald.
There is also an interesting series of posts on DiveOz, criticising the WH&S approach to managing the dive industry in Queensland. To quote one of the posters: “The fundamental problems here is that recreational adventure sports which are not risk free no matter what you try to do, and do not sit well with the charter of a work place health and safety department, who’s rightful goal is zero workplace deaths/injuries. “. The poster argues that heavy handed legislation is driving people and operators away from Queensland as a diving destination. See what you think of the debate here.
