WA mining sector sexual misconduct: Inquiry deputy chair says no easy answers to fix ‘scary’ culture unearthed

The deputy chair of WA’s landmark parliamentary inquiry into sexual assault and harassment in the FIFO industry says there are no easy answers on how to fix the “scary” culture and systemic issues it unearthed. The final report, released on Thursday, noted the power imbalance inherent in a fluid and heavily sub-contracted workforce increased the risk of sexual harassment, and major mining companies should make “a concerted effort” to reduce their reliance on contractors. Former policeman Mark Folkard, the Labor member for Burns Beach, on Friday said the failure of all but one contracting company to give evidence at the inquiry was telling. “The smaller contractors — there’s a role for it ... (but) none of them spoke to us. You can determine your own inferences from that,” he said. “There’s no motivation for them to do so, there’s no consequence. “We only looked at the first tier in people who came forward. What’s happening at the smaller end? I don’t know the answer to that.” None of the major contracting companies would speak in detail about the report on Friday — they either did not respond to queries from The West Australian or provided statements in which they variously detailed how they were committed to change in the industry. Many say they are still considering the report’s recommendations but a reduction in reliance on contracting companies would pose challenges for those firms. “As a publicly listed company, we hold ourselves to the same rigorous standards as our Principals and set clear expectations for our workforce around appropriate behaviours,” Mader Group chief executive Justin Nuich said. Mr Folkard said responsibility for workplace behaviours ultimately ended with the major miners — the owners of the sites. “You can try and shuffle it off to anyone else but at the end of the day, the companies that own the resource and workplace are responsible for what goes on there,” he said, criticising the “active concealing” of incidents by companies. Major miners were already working to reduce their reliance on contractors ahead of the report’s release but the recommendations are expected to expedite efforts to convert contractors to salaried staff. Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Simon Trott said the cyclical nature of the industry meant contractors provided some skills not part of the business. “Contractors will continue to be part of our workforce,” he told the ABC, adding that 600 contractors had been converted to permanent staff over the past year as part of a deliberate strategy. It is understood rival giant BHP has also converted 4000 former contractors to staff as part of its maintenance and production-focused operational services division, which was set up in 2018. The resources behemoths are understood to be looking to increase those numbers in a bid to have staff associated with them more aligned with corporate values, as well as have greater resources available when needed given the skills shortage. ASX-listed contractor Macmahon pledged to act on the report’s recommendations “as necessary” and was confident they would aid the industry generally to improve. Mr Folkard said he wanted to see companies still act on the issues raised in months and years to come. “If previous behaviour is the best indicator for future performance, we’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.