Impotent Minister Must Act to Protect Crew and Passengers During ‘Safe Work Tasmania Week’
The Tasmanian Greens today used ‘Safe Work Tasmania Week’ to reveal a litany of maintenance issues with the Southern Shipping vessels the Matthew Flinders and Southern Condor, and accused Infrastructure Minister Graeme Sturges of gross negligence for continuing to pay public monies to the vessel’s operator while the ongoing operation of the vessel places the lives of sailors and passengers at risk through wholly inadequate maintenance and a failure to meet basic standards. [1]
Greens Member for Bass, Kim Booth MP, said the wide-ranging issues plaguing the Matthew Flinders and Condor include warnings that any failure to correct the more dangerous problems could result in death or dismemberment for the crew, and that the Matthew Flinders is also lice-infested and lacks numerous safety items, yet both vessels continue to sail under the oversight of Minister Sturges.
Mr Booth also said that, despite the Minister’s claim to be watching Southern Shipping “like a hawk,” the Southern Condor has just been caught out by the Greens loading logs in direct defiance of a deficiency report from Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST), as well as subsequently sailing that day without a functioning anchor winch.
“Southern Shipping are thumbing their nose at this impotent Infrastructure Minister, and he needs to wake up and start exercising his duty of care to the crews of the Condor and the Matthew Flinders, as well as the people of the Bass Strait islands who rely on this shipping service,” said Mr Booth.
“Minister Sturges says he is watching Southern Shipping ‘like a hawk,’ but the litany of safety issues with both vessels, and the loading of logs onto the Condor just last weekend in defiance of a MAST deficiency report, reveal that this Minister is completely impotent.”
“The Matthew Flinders is a dangerous, lice-infested vessel, while the Condor is flouting a clear order from MAST. During ‘Safe Work Tasmania Week’ this Minister’s grossly negligent failure to ensure the safety of the crew on these vessels is even more apparent than usual.”
“The Greens are calling on the Infrastructure Minister to take action to force the operator of the Condor and the Matthew Flinders to cease placing the lives and safety of the crew and passengers at risk, and to immediately correct all maintenance and safety issues on both vessels to the satisfaction of MAST,” said Mr Booth.
Maintenance documents for Matthew Flinders.
MAST deficiency report for Southern Condor.
Picture of Southern Condor being loaded with logs in defiance of MAST deficiency report, taken 24 Oct 2009.
www.tas.greens.org.au for documents
Reference:
[1] Mr Booth quoted the following safety issues with the Matthew Flinders in Parliament today:
1. “extend sullage pump electrical to dry place out of bilge as this box has cost company days of lay up and WILL KILL SOMEONE OR ALL IN TIME TO COME”
2. “two new props port and starboard, Starboard prop HARDLY ANY BLADE”
3. “port deck fire pump needs new impellor NO PRESSURE”
4. “Re Mount electrical box waste tank in cabin…VERY DANGEROUS
5. “Guard missing/ SOME ONES HAND WILL GET CHOPPED OFF”
Minister that is just a fraction of the list of long term maintenance issues so will you now come clean and admit that your department has been grossly negligent in that it has continued to pay public money to this rogue operator and that the lives of sailors and passengers could have been put at risk as a result?
and finally with this another on the long list, and I quote,
6. “DE BUG ALL MATTRESSES ON VESSEL THEY GOT LICE”
[Quotes taken from documents in the attached PDF: Oct27_MatthewFlindersMaintenanceDocs_Kbooth_ATTACH]
Kim Booth MP Greens Member for Bass
