McConnell Dowell controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2017
Barangaroo Ferry Wharf workplace fatality
On 1 March 2017, Tim McPherson, a worker employed by subcontractor Brady Marine, was fatally struck by a large steel header beam on a construction barge. Following investigations by SafeWork NSW and the New South Wales Police Force, McConnell Dowell and Brady Marine were convicted of workplace health and safety offences and fined A$500,000 and A$450,000 respectively.
2010
Allegations concerning injury reporting and safety culture
In the early 2010s, McConnell Dowell was accused of discouraging the recording of some workplace injuries as work-related and of asking workers to describe injuries as occurring in their own time. The allegations concerned the preservation of favorable injury statistics when competing for major contracts. The company stated that its safety practices had improved significantly over the preceding 30 years.
2003
Woolloomooloo Bay oil-spill proceedings
A pipeline was damaged during construction at Sydney's Finger Wharf, causing oil to enter Woolloomooloo Bay. McConnell Dowell was found not guilty in proceedings brought by the environmental regulator. The subcontractor involved in the case was also exonerated of responsibility for damage to the pipeline and the resulting spill.
1995
Environmental reporting conviction involving Trevor Morgan
Former chief executive Trevor Morgan was convicted in the New South Wales Land and Environment Court after signing an environmental return that reported only rare exceedances of permitted pollution levels when the exceedances had occurred more frequently. Morgan received a fine of A$4,000.