Media Release | 24 July 2025
Lachlan Hunter MLA
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food, Lachlan Hunter MP, has used National Farm Safety Week to call for urgent and meaningful action on farm safety in Western Australia, following an alarming increase in fatalities and serious injuries across the agricultural sector.
The 2025 Safer Farms Report, released this week, showed that five people lost their lives on WA farms in 2024, more than double the toll recorded the previous year, with hundreds more seriously injured.
“This isn’t just a statistic — it’s five families, five communities, and five lives cut short doing the work that feeds and clothes the nation,” Mr Hunter said.
The national report found 72 people died on farms across Australia in 2024, with the rise in WA part of a broader national trend. Alarmingly, side-by-side vehicles overtook tractors and quad bikes as the leading cause of death for the first time, with 14 fatalities recorded nationwide.
Mr Hunter said the findings reinforced the need for the Cook Labor Government to act on the recommendations from the 2023 Parliamentary inquiry into agricultural safety.
“We had a serious review after 12 farm deaths in one year, but where is the follow through?” Mr Hunter said. “Farmers don’t need more platitudes, they need practical support, targeted training and infrastructure upgrades that make safety second nature.”
He also called on WorkSafe and the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety to step up engagement with the farming community, ensuring safety resources and advice are accessible, relevant, and regularly reviewed.
“Farming is one of the most dangerous industries in Australia. It’s not enough to tell people to ‘be careful’ he said.
Mr Hunter praised the efforts of advocacy groups like SafeFarms WA and Farmsafe Australia for continuing to drive cultural change in the sector.
“National Farm Safety Week should be more than a date on the calendar — it should be the catalyst for change that saves lives.”
Mr Hunter is urging all farm businesses, contractors and workers to take time this week to review their safety procedures, upskill their teams, and have honest conversations about near misses and on-farm risks.
“Because when it comes to farm safety, complacency kills, and second chances are never guaranteed.”
ENDS
