Thursday, May 31, 2018 suratbasin.com.au
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IN THE NEWS “We have been assured by our contractor that all of the recommendations, including the ones identified in our own independent third party audit, will be implemented.� – John Hagan
Minister wants answers
Safety the priority on Range Crossing WORK has begun on implementing all 51 recommendations by an independent auditor to ensure improved worker safety on Second Range Crossing work sites. It was the final straw for Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey when an unsecured heavy load was dropped on a work car at one of the viaduct sites late last month and work was stopped at two sites amid safety concerns. It came just two months after the minister visited the site of the $1.6 billion project due to ongoing problems with health and safety. Earlier this year, Mr Bailey demanded an independent safety audit on the project in response to ongoing problems, carried out by risk management firm Prensa and industry expert Ennio Bianchi. There were 18 reported rollovers on range crossing worksites throughout 2017 analysed in the audit. Prensa and Mr Bianchi found there were a number of comprehensive risk management plans in place, but found problems with reporting and categorisation of the numerous incidents. A lack of consistency was found between the classification of similar incidents and the report described incident descriptions as “lacking�. Six of the 18 reported incidents were classed as Category 1, meaning they were serious enough to require external auditing,
â—— VITAL SIGNS: New safety recommendations are being implemented on Second Range Crossing work sites.
and it was found that only one of these incidents appeared to have been investigated by external auditors. There were also some issues flagged with a lack of experience in some health and safety representatives working on the site. It did, however, note that Nexus had increased its vigilance surrounding plant equipment safety procedures, particularly since late 2017. The report was handed down with 51 recommendations to
PHOTO: FACEBOOK
improve health and safety for workers at the sites. Nexus Infrastructure CEO John Hagan welcomed the findings and said the company and its lead contractor, Nexus Delivery, would implement the full list of recommendations. “A number of the earlier recommendations have already been adapted into practice and we have been assured by our contractor that all of the recommendations, including the ones identified in our own independent third party audit, will be implemented,� Mr Hagan said in a statement.
Ostwald liquidators work on case despite demands to step aside A MEETING planned for May 22 to demand a liquidator working on the Ostwald Bros case step aside did not go ahead. Members of the committee representing the hundreds of creditors owed money by the failed Dalby business wanted to see liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers and lead liquidator Derek Vickers removed from the case. The Dalby-based empire spanning a number of businesses including Ostwald Bros Transport, Ostwald Bros Mining, Ostwald Bros Investments, Ostwald Bros Equity, Roustabout Services Australia, Facility Security Services, BAS Aviation and Ostwald Accommodation, went into administration in September last year, leaving some $60 million in debt to a range of creditors. The members said in a meeting notice filed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission last month
that “it has no trust or faith in PwC and Mr Vickers to continue to conduct the liquidation�. Last month The Chronicle obtained a letter from Mr Vickers and colleague Sam Marsden stating that PwC would resign from the case on April 30. Committee members later were told the company and Mr Vickers would stay on past the agreed date, stating that it needed to consult with secured and priority creditors before making any move to consider a replacement liquidator. Members of the committee then moved to hold a meeting demanding the company step aside, pending the approval of ANZ Bank and the Australian Government through its Fair Entitlements Guarantee, which are the secured and priority creditors to Ostwald Bros. A PwC spokeswoman confirmed the
meeting did not go ahead. “A meeting of the creditors did not take place on May 22, 2018,� the spokeswoman said. “As trading has now ceased, the liquidator is currently calling for final accounts from suppliers which then need to be reconciled and processed. “Once this has been achieved a further Committee of Inspection meeting will be called so the liquidator can update the committee on the status of the liquidation.� Since Ostwald Bros was placed in liquidation last year, brothers Brendan, Daniel and Matthew Ostwald were able to secure the assistance of a silent investor to salvage one of the businesses, Ostwald Construction Materials, which is now trading as Surat Basin Construction Materials.
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