Delivering a keynote address at the 31st Biennial International Conference of Safety in Mines Research Institutes yesterday, Cremer said Queensland’s safety statistics for 2004-05 showed overall continued improvement.

While there were four fatalities in non-coal sectors in 2004-05, lost time injury frequency rates had improved.

The state recorded a lost time injury frequency rate of 4.6 in 2004-05, its best result ever and a 20% improvement on what was achieved in 2003-04. Compared with the 24.7 of a decade ago following the Moura incident, Cremer said the industry had come a long way.

“These results show that industry best-practice for lost time injury frequency rates is within reach,” Cremer said, adding the figures were even more impressive given there were today 5000 more people working in mining and output had doubled.

Cremer said the state’s inspectorate had recently undergone a review to ensure it remained relevant and responsive to the industry it served. The review, which examined the structure, skills and resources required for the inspectorate, indicated some areas for improvement. Some of the outcomes were already underway.

He also said on the positive side the review noted a passion for safety among the inspectorate and high-level technical skills.

Cremer mentioned the Queensland government’s Smart Exploration Initiative, designed to stimulate new interest in exploration. Over the next four years the Queensland Government will invest $A20 million to provide industry with the best geophysical and geotechnical information to enhance the potential for further discoveries.

The Smart Exploration Initiative will focus on four major areas, including the coal-rich Surat and Bowen Basin regions.

In closing, Cremer said safety research in Queensland was world-class with future efforts focused on robotics for disaster investigation; the use of artificial intelligence in production; diesel particulates; and coal properties related to explosions.

He said Queensland was leading the way with safety but that it was always hard to stay at the top when you were doing well.

The conference was organised by Queensland government testing station Simtars.