Shearing contractor fined $16,500 after roustabout scalped in rural NSW woolshed
/ By Gary-Jon Lysaght and Angus VerleyA central-west NSW shearing contractor has been fined $16,500 after roustabout Casey Barnes was scalped in a horrific workplace accident.
Key points:
- Casey Barnes was scalped after a horrific workplace accident inside a woolshed in rural NSW
- Dubbo-based contractor Steve Mudford was fined $16,500 after pleading guilty to putting 'other persons' at risk of serious injury or death
- The Shearing Contractors' Association is calling for better regulation of the industry, and for old machinery to be banned
In 2017, Ms Barnes was working in a woolshed near Gulargambone, north of Dubbo, when her hair became entangled in an overhead shaft.
Dubbo-based contractor Steve Mudford of Muddy's Quality Shearing was last week found guilty in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court of putting other persons at risk of serious injury or death.
Mr Mudford had pleaded guilty to the charge.
He had to pay more than $56,000, which included the fine and $40,000 in legal fees.
Ms Barnes was pushing wool down into a woolpack when her hair became caught in an electric motor located above her, despite her hair being in a bun.
The motor has a belt drive that runs the handpieces so shearers can shear.
The machinery scalped Ms Barnes from the back of the head, releasing just above her eyes and ears.
She was flown straight to Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital by helicopter the day of her accident, where she underwent 20 hours of surgery.
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The case has sparked renewed calls from the Shearing Contractors' Association of Australia for safety regulators to ban outdated and dangerous shearing equipment.
"We've still, across every state and territory, got these old-fashioned shearing sheds," association secretary Jason Letchford said.
"It's about people's safety and people's lives.
"If you're going to be in business, you've got to have a business model where you're going to do it right."
The association is calling for not just overhead shafts to be outlawed but all older-model electric shearing plants that don't have safety switches.
"We're at a once-in-a-generation change if we're at the point where we want to eliminate this entanglement issue with exposed shafts," Mr Letchford said.
He said shearing contractors across the country were now starting to say no to work that involved old machinery.
"If farmers don't want to comply, they probably are going to find in the future, or even this year, they're not going to have a shearing contractor come to that shed," he said.
"We're hoping it's more than minimum standards."
Mr Letchford said workplace safety standards in the shearing industry were "a long way behind" other industries, including mining and manufacturing.
"We've still got the opportunity now to make these changes," he said.