Theme parks in Queensland will be scrutinised in a month-long safety blitz announced by the state government on Saturday, following the deaths of four tourists on a raft ride at Dreamworld this week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Starting on Saturday, workplace inspectors would carry out checks on amusement rides, Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said.
Ms Grace said urgent action was required to ensure the safety of theme park visitors following Tuesday's events which she said had "reverberated around Australia and the world."
"My heart goes out to the family and friends of those who lost their lives," she said.
"These events are being thoroughly investigated by authorities and in addition to this, safety auditors will be hitting Queensland theme parks from today.
She said the public safety blitz would start at Dreamworld and would then move on to Wet'n'Wild, Sea World, Aussie World, Australia Zoo and Movie World.
"The audits will be completed by the end of November and be carried out by specialist inspectors and engineers. They'll be looking at records inspection, maintenance and repair and manufacturer documentation in our theme parks.
"Ride operator training and procedure records, along with controls and processes for taking out and returning equipment to service will also come under the spotlight in these safety audits.
"This is about protecting visitors to our theme parks and restoring public confidence in Queensland's prime tourism assets ahead of the busy Christmas holiday season."
Meanwhile the Australian Workers Union has raised concerns that Dreamworld had understaffed some rides at the theme park.
Queensland's workplace health and safety laws will undergo an audit the state's premier told the ALP state conference on the Gold Coast today.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said a new offence for gross negligence causing death would be looked at, along with the possibility of increasing existing penalties for workplace-related injuries and deaths.
"We all know how important workplace safety is and how important it is to have strong deterrents," she said.
"Queensland has a strong approach to enforcement and we will not hesitate to prosecute employers for negligence.
"However we need to examine current regulations to see if there are any further measures we can take to discourage unsafe work practices."
The maximum penalty under WHS laws is five years' imprisonment with penalties of up to $3 million for corporations, $600,000 for individual officers and $300,000 for other persons.
