Coronial inquiry into farm deaths, including Gunbower tractor death, sparks new campaign

Coinciding with National Farm Safety Week 2022, the launch of the Victorian Farmers Federation's safety campaign will see a dedicated guidebook introduced for farming families.

The new campaign has been driven by findings of a 2021 inquest which established the deaths of seven Victorian children on farms between 2016 and 2021, including a 12-year-old Gunbower boy who was run over by a tractor.

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"The Australian agriculture industry sadly represents the highest proportion of accidents causing death in any workplace, with children tragically making up one quarter of these numbers," VFF president Emma Germano said.

"We need to do all we can as an industry to ensure no one has to endure the heartbreak, pain, loss and emptiness that losing a child to a preventable on-farm accident results in."

Funded by the state government, VFF's campaign and guidance book has been created by the Making Our Farms Safer project, a farm safety education and support service for Victorian farmers.

"I encourage all farmers to familiarise themselves with the Making Our Farm Families Safer campaign and guidebook, there isn't an issue more important than this for farming families," Ms Germano said.

You can follow the Making Our Farm Families Safer campaign across all social media platforms or download a free copy of the guidebook at makingourfarmssafer.org.au

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