A worker has been crushed to death by a turbine blade at a wind farm construction site in Victoria’s west. The union representing workers in the renewable energy sector says it has raised concerns about safety at the site just weeks earlier and that the man’s death was avoidable.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00A workplace accident at Australia's soon-to-be largest wind farm stirring anger among workers.
00:10There's a son not going home to mum and dad. There's a friend not going home. It's just
00:15not acceptable. A 36-year-old subcontractor was crushed this
00:20morning beneath a wind turbine blade being stored on the ground at the Golden Plains
00:24wind farm in Rokewood. First responders tried to revive him but he died at the scene.
00:30The business is devastated for the workers' family and the entire team building the wind
00:36farm. The workers' union says the man's death followed
00:39a series of safety concerns. We've had near misses. There's just been a
00:45range of issues that have been going on since day one.
00:49In September, small parts detached and fell from turbines at the site, triggering a WorkSafe
00:55investigation. The union says it met with the company, Danish
00:59renewable energy giant Vestas, less than two weeks ago to raise safety concerns.
01:05It's absolutely devastating to think that if we had pushed harder, this could have been
01:10avoided. Safety is our number one priority, so any
01:14incidents, any accidents, any deaths for us is one too many.
01:19The death has prompted calls for more rigorous safety standards in the renewable energy sector,
01:24both here in Victoria and across Australia. The union says standards are lagging 15 years
01:30behind other industries. A WorkSafe investigation is underway while
01:35police prepare a report for the coroner.