Parents of Gareth Dodunksi, who was killed at a Queensland mine, 'disgusted' by coroner's findings
The parents of a drill rig worker killed at a remote Queensland mine 10 years ago say they are "disgusted" by a coroner's findings into his death.
Gareth Dodunski was crushed to death when heavy duty hydraulic equipment in 2013
His parents had hoped their 10-year push for answers would improve mine safety
A coroner handed down two recommendations on Thursday
Gareth Dodunski was crushed to death when heavy duty hydraulic equipment, known as an ST80 Iron Roughneck, hit him in the head while he was working at Fairview Gas Field in central Queensland in 2013.
At Brisbane Magistrate's Court on Thursday, Magistrate Donald MacKenzie said the 21-year-old's death was "not an accident, but a safety issue".
Mr Dodunski's parents had hoped their 10-year push for answers would improve safety in Queensland mines.
But speaking after the two recommendations were handed down, they said justice had not been served, nor did they have closure.
The two recommendations were that witnesses who provide information in serious accidents be protected from prosecution, and that the state government combine various work and safety regulations into one act.
"It's just a failure, a failure. I'm disgusted," Gareth's mother Michelle Dodunski said.
"These companies need to stop putting profit and production over worker's safety.
"We're just surprised there wasn't the recommendation, they failed in emergency response."
Mr Dodunski said he didn't know "how to feel at the moment".
In his summary, Magistrate MacKenzie praised Gareth Dodunski's parents' tenacity to uncover the truth about their son's death.
In June 2013, Dodunski was a lease hand on a drill rig operated by Saxon Energy Services and working in the "danger zone" with another colleague when the ST80 was activated by Jacob Kilby, crushing him in seconds.
In the inquest in September 2022, the coroner's court heard Mr Kilby, the driller responsible for operating the equipment that caused the fatal injuries, had only recently been promoted and had received no formal training, only learning "on the job".
Mr Kilby told the court about the "moment of panic" he experienced when he realised the two men were on the floor, after looking away momentarily before reactivating the machine.
An inquest this week will dissect the chain of events leading up to 21-year-old Gareth Dodunski's death on a central Queensland gas field in 2013.
He said he tried to stop it by "smashing the off button" but should have been hitting the "kill switch".
Handing down his recommendations on Thursday, Magistrate MacKenzie said Gareth Dodunski's death was "difficult to prosecute".
"This death is not an accident, it's a safety issue. It's also difficult to prosecute. Human errors occur in the best safety situations, no worker wants to cause an accident," he said.
"Jacob Kilby was an impressive witness, contrite and credible. His distress was still apparent nine years later," the coroner, referencing Mr Kilby's inquest testimony from 2022, said.
But Gareth's parents said Mr Kilby never apologised to them, and neither did their son's former workplace.
"Jacob Kilby never offered us an apology. Santos put out that they were consoling and comforting our family, never heard from them, never heard a word from them," Mrs Dodunski said.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
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