On the 9th of August, Kidsafe WA held their Third Childhood Injury Prevention Symposium – Growing Up Safely on Farms, at the Northam Country Club in the Wheatbelt town of Northam. The event was MCed by Tracy Blaszkow, Play@Kidsafe WA Manager, and we were kindly welcomed to Ballardong Nyoongar Boodja by Deborah Moody, a respected Elder and Language Specialist. Our guest speakers included Dr. Richard Franklin – Kidsafe Australia, Dr. Neil Ballard – Ballard Cleaning Co, Julii Gaunt – WorkSafe, Rachel Murray – Royal Life Saving Society WA, Danielle McNamee – ProcessWorx with a panel discussion with Tracy McAlpine, Catherine Keefe and Wendy Sawyer.
The event opened with an address from Scott Philips, CEO of Kidsafe WA, who welcomed guests and speakers to the symposium, introduced Kidsafe WA and reviewed what Kidsafe WA is currently doing to help create safer farming environments for children. Philips also reviewed Kidsafe WA’s latest Childhood Injury Report: Farm Injuries, which can be found here.
Our first guest speaker, Dr. Richard Franklin, addressed the current state of child injury on farms across Australia and internationally, the top priorities for injury prevention work in this space and what we can do to help keep children safe. Dr. Richard Franklin’s presentation covered current approaches to child safety, discussed the benefits of growing up on farms, the challenges and risks for children raised on farms, the primary causes and mechanisms of child injuries, and strategies for addressing these challenges and risks.
Our second speaker, Dr. Neil Ballard, explained and explored kid safety on farms from a parent’s perspective. He discussed teaching kids the correct methods of various farm practices to avoid what could be a tragic situation and what he has learned from working in various aspects of farming and from working on farms in multiple countries.
Our third speaker, Julii Gaunt, discussed the duties under the Work Health and Safety Act, with practical ways to ensure kids grow up in a safe environment on farms. Gaunt also gave an overview of the role of WorkSafe inspectors and how they assist with the risk of injury on farms.
Our fourth guest speaker, Rachel Murray, revealed common places children can drown on farms, including rivers, lakes, dams as well as irrigation channels and water troughs; Murray also presented Royal Life Saving of WA’s Keep Watch program and reviewed strategies for parents and carers to keep their children safe when in, on or around water on the farm and prevent drowning deaths in children.
Our fifth speaker, Danielle McNamee, covered the importance of preventing child injury when developing a Safety Management System. McNamee explained what a Safety Management System entails and discussed children in workplace procedures, inductions and safe work procedures for recreational activities.
Finally, a panel discussion allowed the audience and speakers to ask questions and draw links between the previous presentations and how to apply the knowledge gathered from the symposium in practical ways on WA farms.
Kidsafe WA is overjoyed with the success of the Third Childhood Injury Prevention Symposium – Growing Up Safely on Farms and looks forward to working with WA farmers and industry health professionals to create safer farms for children.
Kidsafe WA would like to express our thanks to the following people and organisations who contributed to this event:
- Department of Health Western Australia
- CBH Group – Grass Roots Community Grant
- SafeFarms WA – Support of Welcome Sundowner
- Deborah Moody – Welcome to Country
- Northam Country Club
- Ladies Golf Club Catering
- David Broadway Photography
