Mate’s death shame

Alex de Vos
The director of a controversial construction company has described to a Geelong court the pain of losing a “really good mate” after failing to provide a safe working environment.
In a heartfelt speech, Andrew Leorke broke down in tears as he told Geelong County Court how he wished he could “have done everything correctly (then) this accident may never have happened”.
Earlier this month a court found Leorke and his Permanent Erection Construction’s co-director David Spedding guilty of failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The court heard that in June, 2006, the pair directed their employees to store building materials on a construction site above a chemist at Apollo Bay.
They failed to test the load-bearing capacity of the construction zone and the floor collapsed, killing employee Peter Miller and injuring another worker.
“A really good mate was killed and a really good apprentice was hurt,” Leorke sobbed in court this week.
“They were all friends and I’m fully responsible as supervisor on site.”
Leorke told the court he suffered depression as a result of the accident and was unable to work.
“All I have is a $2000 car, a kitchen table and a few camping items,” he said.
“I had to borrow $40 to get here this morning.”
On December 19, 2008, Geelong Magistrates’ Court fined the company and its directors $105,000 for failing to comply with a prohibition notice issued after Mr Miller’s death.
The Echuca-based company was also fined $110,000 after a 28-metre wall collapsed onto a neighbouring Apollo Bay café on August 16, 2006.