CORONAVIRUS — RESOURCES SECTOR
221. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the minister representing the
Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
The mining industry and the oil and gas industry are critical
to the economy of Western Australia.
(1) Has the
minister met with both the mining industry and the oil and gas industry to
discuss strategies on managing the impact of the coronavirus?
(2) How is the
McGowan government assisting the mining, oil and gas industries to manage the
impact?
(3) What advice
has the minister offered to industry regarding the protection of fly in, fly
out workers?
Hon
DARREN WEST replied:
I
thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. On behalf of the
Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Mines
and Petroleum, I provide the following answer.
(1) Yes. The
Minister for Mines and Petroleum, in addition to senior representatives from
the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, continues to engage
with the resource sector and its peak bodies to ensure a consistent and unified
approach to managing the response to COVID-19 to safeguard the health and
safety of the resource sector workforce.
(2) DMIRS is
assisting by ensuring that resource operations are aware of the need to use the
most appropriate information in their considerations of their individual
response. Updated information and protocols for managing COVID-19, as defined by the Department of Health, is
distributed to all sites as new information comes to hand. DMIRS is also
in close contact with resource operators to discuss their response to COVID-19
and, in particular, DMIRS activities, such as visits and inspections, to ensure
that the most appropriate interaction is undertaken.
(3) DMIRS has
advised resource companies to follow Department of Health protocols.
Additionally, the State Mining Engineer has directed mining operations to have
an infectious diseases management plan, recommending that companies appoint an
infectious diseases manager to coordinate company responses. These protocols
are to protect all workers and the general public.