On Monday, we submitted to the Hazelwood mine fire inquiry.
The focus of our submission was the role of the regulator of the mine, the Department of State Development, Business and Innovation. We requested that the Board of Inquiry look into the issues of:
- Were the regulations that applied to the mine adequate to ensure the safety and protection of the people of Morwell and the environment?
- Did the Department of State Development, Business and Innovation ensure that GDF Suez complied with the regulations? And if not, why not?
In our submission we noted that the Hazelwood mine fire is the most recent and the most serious in a string of incidents caused by coal mining in the Latrobe Valley. In light of this history, we expressed our concerns that the regulator was not taking appropriate action to protect the Morwell community and the environment.