Dear Editor,
Farming plays a huge role in the Gippsland economy and is an essential part of our local communities – but it also presents dangers every day.
The theme for this year’s National Farm Safety Week, which will be acknowledged 18-24 July 2022, is ‘Recipe for Averting Disaster’.
Farmsafe Australia will be heading a national campaign to raise awareness of the risks and hazards experienced on farms including fatigue, complacency and the often blurred line between the home and work environment.
For many of us our farms are our homes and it is important to keep our families as well as workers safe. Alarmingly, the 2021 Safer Farms Report showed that 13.8 per cent of on-farm fatalities that occurred in 2020 were children under the age of 15.
The 2022 Safer Farms Report that will be released during Farm Safety Week will give a snapshot of on-farm accidents that occurred throughout 2021 and discuss methods to avoid future accidents.
I encourage all Gippsland farmers, both owners and employees, to take the time to read the Safer Farms Report and use this week as an opportunity to review the safety practices of their workplace.
Let’s keep our farms – and homes – safe places to be and work.
Yours sincerely,
Danny O’Brien MP