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Danny O'Brien urges Gippsland farmers to reflect and prioritise safety during 2025 National Farm Safety Week
Danny O'Brien urges Gippsland farmers to reflect and prioritise safety during National Farm Safety Week, highlighting rising fatalities, mental health impacts and the importance of learning from near misses.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O'Brien is urging all local farmers and farm workers to stop, reflect and reprioritise safety as part of 2025 National Farm Safety Week, running from 20 - 26 July. Centred around the theme, Second Chances - Who Knows How Many You'll Get?
Danny O'Brien urges local farmers to reflect and prioritise safety during 2025 Farm Safety Week amid rising incidents
Protect farm families
This year's campaign from Farmsafe Australia reinforces that every near miss carries a lesson that we must learn from while also shining a confronting light on the real cost of cutting corners, as outlined in the 2025 Safer Farms Report.
Mr O'Brien highlighted that there has been a devastating spike in on-farm incidents across the nation in 2024, with 72 lives lost and 133 serious injuries recorded - a sobering increase from the five-year average of 53 fatalities and more than double the 2023 figures.
"This is a heartbreaking reality check for farming communities across Australia - and Gippsland South is no exception. Our region relies heavily on agriculture, and our farms are more than workplaces - they're homes, and they must be safe places," Mr O'Brien said.
Prioritising farm safety
The data shows the most dangerous machinery continues to be side-by-sides (14 deaths), quad bikes (10 deaths), and tractors (8 deaths) - with many of these fatalities preventable through planning, awareness, and safe practices.
Mr O'Brien said this year there will also be a focus on how failing to protect your mental health can cloud your judgement, reduce reaction time and even increase risk of physical harm. "It is important that we recognise mental health as an integral part of farm safety. Farming can be an isolating and high-pressure job, and when mental health struggles go unnoticed or untreated, the risk of harm increases for everyone."
"If you're struggling, please reach out. Getting help isn't a weakness - it's a safeguard. Just like we service our equipment or repair a fence, we must take care of ourselves," he said. Mr O'Brien encouraged all Gippsland farmers to take time during the week to reflect, speak up and take action to improve safety on their properties.
Pictures from Danny O'Brien MP Facebook page.
Source: http://gippsland.com/
Published by: news@gippsland.com
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