Qld miner mourned amid pressure on govt
By Australian Associated Press
Queensland miner Jack Gerdes is being mourned as one of the good blokes, always up for a laugh or a chat.
The 27-year-old died while working the night shift at the Baralaba North open-cut coal mine in central Queensland early on Sunday.
His death - the sixth in Queensland mining workplaces in the past 12 months - has put pressure on the state government and industry to act on safety.
The experienced mining operator was at an excavator about 1.30am before being found on the stairs of the vehicle with injuries to his head, face and limbs, mine operator Golding said in a statement.
It's believed he got caught between the body of the excavator and the safety rails of the stairs.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by Mr Gerdes' devastated colleagues to help his family pay the funeral expenses.
"Jack was one of the good ones," the page, under the heading 'Saying Goodbye to Jack', says.
"Always up for a laugh or a chat. He touched so many people with his loyalty, compassion and dry sense of humor [sic]. He always had a smile and will be missed greatly."
Mr Gerdes' death prompted crisis talks on mine safety on Monday between the government, representatives of the mining industry and unions.
A review into fatal coal mine incidents will be expanded to include mineral mine and quarry incidents since 2000, but won't be completed until the end of the year.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad backed having the coroner involved if the independent review suggested it.
"If the consensus is the coroner should play a role, if they don't already play a role, then that should take place, absolutely," she said.
"The more attention paid to this devastating turn of events, the better off we'll be, and the better off workers will be in the future."
State opposition leader Deb Frecklington has called for a parliamentary inquiry.
"We need a bi-partisan committee, a committee that can go out into these communities and listen to the workers at the coal face," she said.
"We know that any changes that are required in law will have to go through the parliament anyway, so why don't we just have a parliamentary committee so we can listen to people at the coal face and make decisions accordingly."
David Cliff, a former health and safety advisor to the Queensland Mining Council, said prior to the last 12 months, the state only recorded one or two mining deaths a year during the previous decade.
He said the number of mining fatalities should be zero and the current figures - "the highest we've had in about 20 years" - fly in the face of modern standards.
"They should all be avoidable, with our current level of mature safety culture and effective systems," he told AAP.