Did Pauline Hanson’s PHON abandon workers in favour of corporate mining giants? Michael West checks the politics behind Simon Turner v BHP.
Former BHP Mt Arthur coal miner Simon Turner’s decade-long dispute with BHP exposes serious questions about the treatment of labour-hire workers and the politicians and government agencies responsible for protecting them.
The corporate beneficiaries of labour hire deals extend way beyond BHP and its coal operations to most large mining companies and the sheer magnitude of the dollars at stake explains why Turner has struggled to get politicians to support his case for just compensation.
So sensitive are the political machinations that BHP managed to have court proceedings suppressed in relation to meetings between Turner and politicians suppressed earlier this year – and this writer was dragged into court by BHP and MinterEllison for publishing details of one of the meetings and its attendees.
Suppression orders remain.
One Nation donations
Earlier this month, a Sydney Morning Herald investigation revealed that WorkPac, facing potential liabilities exceeding $100 million from casual employment claims, was recorded as providing $48,000 to One Nation during 2021–22.
The disclosure renewed scrutiny of Malcolm Roberts’ and Pauline Hanson’s decision to support the Morrison government’s casual employment legislation in March 2021. To his credit, Roberts had previously gone into bat for Turner – details of one of the meetings he was involved in with BHP’s council and MinterEllison, is suppressed in evidence to the Federal Court.
Turner suffered serious injuries at BHP’s Mt Arthur coal mine on December 12, 2015, including a broken back. His compensation action against BHP is now dragging into next year. As his claim had been erroneously classified as ‘public liability’ rather than ‘workers compensation’ he receives no Centrelink benefits and has been forced to self-represent in court.
Turner’s payslips and tax records identified Chandler Macleod Group Limited as his employer. Yet workers’ compensation documents identified Ready Workforce, a different corporate entity. Turner disputes that Ready Workforce employed him.
Enter David Shoebridge, SIRA
In May 2016, David Shoebridge, then a NSW parliamentarian, raised Turner’s case with Chandler Macleod and the NSW insurance regulator, SIRA.
A separate letter signed by federal Attorney-General and Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne asked NSW Minister Victor Dominello to review Turner’s workers’ compensation claim.
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The ministers recorded concerns that Turner’s weekly payments did not properly reflect his pre-injury earnings. Turner says he received approximately $400 a week.
A newly supplied SIRA letter dated 16 October 2017, provides important evidence about the regulator’s understanding of coal-mining insurance.
Responding to a complaint about Coal Mines Insurance, SIRA explained that Coal Mines Insurance (CMI) administered a separate workers’ compensation scheme under the Coal Industry Act 2001.
It stated that the ordinary NSW workers’ compensation legislation did
not apply to the coal industry in the same way as to other workers.
SIRA also confirmed that disputes concerning coal miners’ claims were handled by the District Court rather than the Workers Compensation Commission.
Crucially, SIRA acknowledged that its powers to regulate CMI were limited by the legislation (see story linked above), although certain information-gathering and inspection powers remained available.
The letter referred the complainant to the NSW Ombudsman if dissatisfied.
The letter also establishes that SIRA recognised important legal differences between coal-mining insurance and ordinary NSW workers’ compensation.
SIRA later investigates Turner’s insurance
In 2018, SIRA investigated the insurance arrangements used for Turner and other labour-hire coal miners.
Its internal records show an investigator identified prima facie evidence that Turner was performing coal-mining work and raised concerns about potentially inappropriate insurance coverage affecting him and other workers. The matter was referred for legal assessment.
SIRA subsequently closed the investigation, reporting that Turner was receiving his lawful entitlements.
The disclosed report does not reproduce the complete legal advice explaining how the earlier concerns about insurance obligations were resolved.
The 2017 letter and 2018 investigation raise an important distinction: whether Turner received payments under an existing policy is not necessarily the same question as whether his employer held the insurance required by law.
The High Court’s Orica ruling
On September 9, 2026, the High Court delivered its decision in Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation v Orica Australia Pty Ltd.
The Court held, by majority, that workers performing duties directly connected with the daily operation of a black-coal mine could qualify for the Coal Mining Industry Long Service Leave scheme under the relevant location-based provision, even where their employer was not itself a coal-mining business.
The decision concerned Orica shot-firing workers.
High Court: look at the work, not the paperwork. Is BHP looking?
Although the case did not decide Turner’s employment or insurance dispute, it reinforces the importance of examining the work employees actually performed and the particular statutory rules governing their entitlements.
Roberts backed the miners, then changed his vote.
Turner had worked with Malcolm Roberts and his office from around 2019, supplying evidence about labour-hire employment practices.
PHON switches horses
In July 2020, Roberts publicly appeared alongside Turner and fellow coal miner Stuart Bonds, condemning the treatment of coal miners. Roberts had initially opposed the Morrison government’s casual employment changes.
On March 18, 2021, Roberts and Pauline Hanson reversed their position. The legislation passed the Senate 35 votes to 33.
The changes benefited employers facing historical casual employment claims, although the High Court’s subsequent WorkPac v Rossato decision also affected those claims.
The SMH later identified four WorkPac transactions totalling $48,000 in One Nation’s electoral disclosures. The payments were classified as “other receipts”. Their precise dates and purposes were not established.
One Nation denies that political contributions determined its vote. There is no established evidence that the vote was purchased.
The former WorkPac executive
The SMH investigation also identified Chris Taylor, a former WorkPac lawyer who later worked in the Morrison government and subsequently became Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff.
Turner identifies him as Chris Drayton Taylor and says he was the former WorkPac executive discussed in private messages with Roberts concerning Turner’s settlement with Chandler Macleod.
On November 7, 2023, Roberts wrote:
“It was on his initiative that he went to CMG to get what little money you have got from them so far,” adding “I’ll get Hugh and call you back”
Turner says he had retained and paid lawyers and never authorised Chris Taylor to negotiate his employment claim.
The messages establish Roberts’ account of an approach to Chandler Macleod. They do not independently establish Taylor’s role or what communications occurred.
Questions for government and industry
The records show that concerns about Turner’s employment and compensation were raised with politicians and regulators over several years.
They also establish that SIRA recognised limits to its authority over Coal Mines Insurance before investigating potentially inappropriate insurance arrangements affecting labour-hire coal miners.
Separately, the WorkPac financial disclosures and One Nation’s 2021 political reversal raise questions about the relationship between corporate interests and parliamentary decision-making.
These events do not establish a coordinated scheme or a purchased vote.
They do establish however a public-interest case for examining why the insurance investigation was closed, whether coal miners received their lawful entitlements, what WorkPac’s $48,000 was for, and whether the workers Roberts promised to defend were ultimately disadvantaged by his political reversal.
“I’m sorry but …” BHP v coal miner Simon Turner delayed again
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.