No Charges For Exner Death

A NSW Detective told a coronial inquiry last week that the contractor on a site where a 16-year-old died was considered to be someone who did the job quickly with minimum costs.

Three days after starting work as an apprentice roof plumber with Gary Denson Roofing, Joel Exner died from internal injuries sustained when he fell from the roof of a construction site at Eastern Creek on October 15, 2003.

Detective Senior Constable Ronald Tarlington said the national occupational health and safety manager for the Australand site, Charles Harper, said he had found Garry Denson to be someone did the job quickly with minimum costs.

Tarlington also gave evidence of how Joel's shoes - a pair of sneakers - were found near his body. The soles were worn and his laces were not tied.

"We raised the issue of workplace safety at the Cole Royal Commission into the building industry," says NSW construction union secretary Andrew Ferguson. "We were afraid there would be a copycat death after seventeen year old Dean McGoldrick was killed,"

"His mother pleaded with the commission to investigate what had happened to her son. Cole gave a commitment to visit a building site, but because the developer on the chosen site didn't want to be scrutinized, he didn't go."

"This two faced approach to safety reveals the double standards of the Howard government."

An arrest warrant has been issued for Exner's supervisor on the day he died, Andrew Jones, who has not been able to be subpoenaed to give evidence at the Coronial inquiry.

Detective Tarlington told Westmead Coroners' Court that he had considered laying charges of involuntary manslaughter but thought a coronial inquest was the best way to proceed.

Last week NSW Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich made a number of recommendations coming out of the inquiry, including preferring the NSW Code of Practice for safe Work on Roofs part one be a minimum standard.

The Deputy state Coroner did not find sufficient evidence for a charge of manslaughter or involuntary manslaughter to be laid.

© 2002 UNIONSAFE
This site is sponsored by the Workcover Authority of NSW for Labor Council of NSW

Site designed and engineered by Social Change Online [credits]
This page: http://unionsafe.net.au/news/112304881214063.html
Last modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 20:37:38 EST