What would Slim Dusty have said?

The Sun Herald reports Stockman may have to wear hard hats after OH&S Nannies took a case to court over the death of a jackaroo.

THE owners of a cattle station yesterday pleaded guilty to breaching occupational health and safety rules after the death of a jackaroo. Daniel Croker, 23, was killed when thrown from a horse mustering at Gunbar station, near Hay in New South Wales in 2001. Mr Croker was not wearing a helmet. The case, the first of its kind to go before the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, could result in hard hats replacing the traditional Akubra worn by stockmen and farmers across the country. The NSW WorkCover Authority prosecuted Gunbar’s owners, B.H. MacLachlan Pty Ltd, claiming the company failed to provide safety equipment and training for Mr Croker. B.H. MacLachlan faces a fine of up to $550,000 but will contest some facts of the case when submissions on penalty are heard in June.

Seems a bit odd to me. Will MacLachlan and Company have to muzzle the horses as well. They bite you know. What about hobbling them to stop them kicking. We should also look at filling in all the small holes in the paddocks to stop the horses tripping in a rabbit warren and maybe we should get rid of the cattle – they’ve been known to spook horses. Yellow hard hats – bloody hell. The hat rack on the verandah of the Boulia Pub will never look the same. And the new OH&S Ringer – hardly an inspiration for country music.