Griffith mum Kay Catanzariti has praised the ACT government for committing to tough new workplace safety laws following the tragic worksite death of her son Ben
A GRIFFITH woman who lost her son in a construction site accident last year has praised the ACT government for committing to a crackdown on worksite safety.
While the reform will not bring back Kay Catanzariti's 21-year-old son Ben, she said it would mean fewer families would go through the heartache of losing a loved one.
Mrs Catanzariti began a crusade for major improvement to work safety after Ben was hit and killed by a concrete pouring boom on a Canberra construction site in July last year.
Ben's was the fourth workplace death in the ACT in less than 12 months, sparking an independent inquiry into the industry.
The inquiry yielded 28 recommendations to improve workplace safety.
Eight were adopted by the state government in November and the remainder were approved last week.
"It is great that they're taking this seriously," Mrs Catanzariti said.
"In some ways Ben's death has been a milestone for safety laws in the ACT.
"It's not that Ben needs to be remembered for this we will remember him in so many other ways but if it can save someone else, it has been worth pursuing."
The changes implemented in November have already seen the ACT government employ 12 new safety inspectors, name and shame dodgy builders and introduce on-the-spot fines for safety breaches.
There has been some backlash from construction companies on the tightening of regulations but Mrs Catanzariti said they should be doing the right thing by their workers anyway.
"If they're too scared to let workplace safety officers onsite then there's obviously something wrong," she said.