WA mining needs to step up on sexual assault: minister
West Australian Minister for Mines Bill Johnston says resources companies need to improve their response to sexual assault and harassment in the mining industry.
Mr Johnston said some companies were forging ahead with reforms a year after a WA parliamentary inquiry uncovered evidence of widespread sexual assaults against women and a culture of cover-ups in the state’s fly in, fly out mining sector, but others were yet to “fully respond”.
“We’ve seen some clear leadership commitment from some companies in this area, but we know that there’s a lot more work to be done,” Mr Johnston told The Australian Financial Review.
WA Minister for Mines Bill Johnston says more resources companies need to step up and improve their response to damning findings of sexual assault in the mining industry. Bloomberg
“Some companies are yet to fully respond, and we have a strong expectation that all companies will step up and recognise their responsibilities.”
The government announced on Thursday that former sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins will headline a mining industry summit next month aimed at eliminating inappropriate behaviour on WA mine sites.
The summit is part of the WA government’s response to the extraordinary contents of theJune 2022 inquiry report, which found women were frequently dealing with sexual harassment and sexual assault in the FIFO industry, and a “broad range of unlawful and criminal behaviour” had been ignored or overlooked by employers.
Company boards, mine management, health and safety representatives, supervisors and safety professionals are expected to attend the summit.
Mr Johnston said improving the safety for women on mine sites needed to be the industry’s top priority.
“It’s particularly important
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