A tripartite forum focused on a Moranbah North ignition event has set a benchmark for industry collaboration and transparency, according to Queensland Acting Commissioner for Resources Safety and Health Ken Singer.

Anglo American initiated the safety and health forum, held across two sessions in April and June, to review the draft findings of its investigation into the incident at the underground coal mine on March 31.

Mr Singer, who acted as chair, said this was the first time a tripartite forum like this had been held in Queensland to investigate a high-potential incident.

“It brought experts and senior leaders from Anglo American, the Mining and Energy Union, industry safety and health representatives, site safety and health representatives and mines inspectors together in a no-blame environment, and without fear of reprisal, to drive improved safety and health outcomes,” he said.

Anglo American Australia chief executive officer Dan van der Westhuizen said the forum represented a significant step toward fostering a more collaborative and transparent approach to safety.

It had provided a valuable platform to seek input and inform the final investigation report into the Moranbah North incident, he said.

“The forum has been described as setting a new benchmark in safety collaboration, enabling all parties to explore potential regulatory and structural improvements that could benefit the entire coal mining industry,” he said.

“We thank Acting Independent Safety and Health Commissioner Ken Singer for his leadership in chairing the forum and acknowledge the strong commitment of all participants.

“This collaborative approach reflects a shared commitment to continuous improvement and safer outcomes for all coal mine workers in Queensland.”

Mr Singer said the group involved in the forum adopted the high reliability-organisation principle of reluctance to simplify.

“Right up front we discussed refraining from using phrases such as, ‘someone should have’. We know that circumstances involving unplanned events of this nature are never simple and they often involve complex chains of events,” he said.

“Hindsight bias can influence how we approach these matters, and it is more productive to understand the circumstances which led to the issue.”

Mr Singer said one of the key outcomes of the forum was to document a pathway to allow extraction to recommence at Moranbah North mine.

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“It was also an opportunity to demonstrate the potential value of regulatory changes that might improve safety for the industry, such as ways to allow stakeholders to share information in a safe space free of blame and fear of reprisal,” he said.

“While the regulatory process continues in parallel requiring Anglo American to demonstrate an acceptable level of risk, the forum heard and interrogated facts and data leading up to the incident, the incident itself and the controls that may allow the safe resumption of mining.”

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