Jess Wilson’s forklift foray sparks safety investigation

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson’s forklift-driving social media stunt will be put under the microscope by WorkSafe investigators after questions were raised about whether she was licensed to operate the machinery.

A widely viewed video of Wilson “in the driver’s seat”, manoeuvring a forklift and operating its front forks as she hammered the government over wasteful spending and budget blowouts was released on her Instagram on Wednesday.

But rather than landing a punch on Labor, the social media clip has created a headache for the opposition with WorkSafe confirming to The Age on Friday that, following a complaint, it was looking into Wilson’s video.

“WorkSafe has received a request relating to a health and safety concern and inspectors will make inquiries into the matters raised,” a spokesman said.

In Victoria, a High Risk Work Licence is required to legally drive a forklift. The penalties for doing so without an appropriate licence can be fines of up to $3000 for an individual and $10,000 for a business, depending on the circumstances.

Late on Friday, the opposition responded to news of the WorkSafe probe.

“Labor has launched more investigations into Jess Wilson’s social media than it has into $15 billion of CFMEU corruption,” a spokesperson said.

“Victorians shouldn’t be surprised that WorkSafe is seeking to silence criticism of the Labor government, given it is chaired by a former Labor MP.”

While the Liberals wouldn’t confirm whether the member for Kew holds a High Risk Work Licence, it is understood the video was filmed under supervision in a controlled environment with no workers in the vicinity.

Premier Jacinta Allan weighed into the forklift furore, saying everyone had to follow the rules.
“Workers have to follow the rules,” Allan said. “The leader of the Liberal Party thinks she doesn’t, and it is up to her to explain why she thinks she can flout important laws and rules that are in place to protect the safety of all workers.”

Meanwhile, Wilson’s parliamentary colleague and shadow attorney-general James Newbury had no clue what was going on when asked for his opinion about Wilson’s social media drama.

Newbury said he had not viewed the forklift video and couldn’t comment because, “You’re putting to me a proposition that someone may not be adhering to something that I haven’t seen, and I’ve got no evidence to suggest that’s the case.”

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