As Ballarat prepares to farewell another victim of workplace tragedy, alarming new figures show Regional Victorians make up two-thirds of the deaths in workplace incidents.
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WorkSafe statistics released this week reveal of the 24 people killed in Victoria in 2019, 15 were in regional areas.
Truck driver Leigh Suckling became the fifth person this year, and the sixth in the Ballarat region since March 2018, to die after a workplace accident when he was involved in an incident between a truck and a trailer on January 28.
A close friend and motorcycling clubmate of Suckling has described him as 'just a champion fellow' whose actions in supporting the families of colleagues killed in trench accident in March 2018 were the measure of the man.
Dave Armstrong and Mr Suckling were friends for just over six years, before Mr Suckling's tragic death resulting from an incident at a Delacombe workplace on January 28.
WorkSafe also revealed statistics show just on two-thirds of all deaths at work in 2019 were in regional areas.
Mr Armstrong said people loved Mr Suckling for the compassion he showed following the death of Jack Brownlee and Charlie Howkins in March 2018 at the Winterfield Estate trench collapse.
Mr Suckling, 61, was among those who attempted to rescue the pair following the collapse and maintained contact with the bereaved families afterwards, offering assistance and support.
"He was the kind of guy that would be there to help anyone who needed help," Mr Armstrong said.
"He was always willing to lend a hand, a genuinely good fellow.
"He loved his family and they are doing as well as can be expected. They are a very close family and it has been enormously hard for them."
Mr Armstrong said family, fishing, motorcycles and dogs were the great joys in Mr Suckling's life and his death has robbed the Goldfields American Motorcycle Club of a valued member.
"We'd done quite a few trips and day rides together over the last six years," he said.
"He was very active within the club; he was one of our road captains, organising rides and things.
"And you know, he was a bit of a larrikin too. He loved a laugh."
In the official 2019 WorkSafe figures, two Ballarat incidents were recorded.
These included the death of a 56-year-old man after a brick wall collapsed on him during demolition works at a residential building site at Mount Pleasant and a 50-year-old man who died after being crushed by a machine at an electroplating business at Delacombe.
A 37-year-old former Ballarat resident was also killed after he was electrocuted when he contacted powerlines at a residential building site at St Leonards on November 25. The annual toll was one less than the previous year, when 25 workers died as a result of workplace incidents.
There were six deaths on farms in 2019, making them the most dangerous workplaces in the state. Another five deaths occurred on constructions sites. Two of the farm deaths involved children, aged two and three years old.
WorkSafe Chief Executive Colin Radford said a single workplace death was one too many.
"These are not numbers, these are people - fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, siblings, colleagues, team mates and community members," Mr Radford said.
"Out of respect for those we have lost and their families, it is time we said enough. It is time to take strong and decisive action."
"There is simply no excuse for cutting corners when it comes to workplace safety."
Mr Armstrong, himself a union representative, said it was incumbent on employers to be observant and stringent with safety measures in the workplace; and workers, especially those in construction, need to resist being pressured to 'get the job done' over their own welfare.
"The 'faster, faster- quicker, quicker' mentality needs to be got rid of," Mr Armstrong said.
"It takes as long as it takes to get the job done safely. Now I think that has improved a bit over the years, but I know from personal experience - things go wrong when people are pushed too hard."
Mr Suckling's funeral is on Monday, February 10 at the Verey Chapel, 43A Millar Street, Daylesford at 1.30pm.
CORRECTION:
An earlier version of this story carried a photo that was incorrect.
The person pictured was not Leigh Suckling. The photo was of Norm Suckling who tragically died in a motorcycle accident last October. This was a newsroom error.
The Courier apologises for any hurt or distress this may have caused family and friends during this difficult time.
