Multiple demolition derbies cancelled after SafeWork NSW rules barriers unsafe
Cessnock Show Society has cancelled its demolition derby after SafeWork NSW deemed barriers unsafe. (Supplied: Shiralee Adams)
In short:
Demolition derbies at seven agricultural shows have been cancelled after SafeWork NSW deemed barriers unsafe.
The Australian Demolition Derby Association says the rulings have been inconsistent and have cost societies thousands of dollars.
What's next?
The ADDA is calling for more communication and consistency from SafeWork NSW.
The demolition derby is usually the main drawcard at the Cessnock Show in the New South Wales Hunter, but this year, the arena sat empty after the event was cancelled.
Three days before the event, SafeWork NSW told the Cessnock Show Society its arena barriers were not safe.
Society president Shiralee Adams said the ruling was "gutting", as their arena followed AgShows NSW guidelines.
"We had about 100 metres between our spectators and the start of the demolition derby field," she said.
"We would have had telegraph polls, non-filled water barriers, metal railing … the inside running rail of the trotting track, and then the outside arena fence.
"[SafeWork NSW] felt that because none of that was engineer-certified to withstand a 70 kilometre-an-hour impact, we couldn't use those things."
The Cessnock demolition derby had previously used multiple barriers. (Supplied: Shiralee Adams)
SafeWork NSW said water-filled bollards were required, and that would have increased running costs from $2,000 to about $15,000.
Ms Adams, who has 15 years' experience running agricultural shows, said the bollards created other risks, including blocking emergency access.
"With only one entry point, if one of the cars rolls, stalls, or crashes there, that entry point is now blocked," she said.
"I voiced it to [SafeWork NSW], and it was something that they hadn't thought of.
"We have a 70-horsepower tractor with forks; we can't physically move them."
Shiralee Adams (right) says SafeWork NSW's requirements raise other safety concerns. (Supplied)
Despite community support, the Cessnock Show Society could not justify pulling together $15,000, let alone source the bollards in time.
Ms Adams estimated attendance dropped to a quarter, losing 3,000 to 4,000 people because of the cancellation.
"It will have had a major impact on our income into the show," Ms Adams said.
"We went out on the limb with the derby, and then we also had a free circus, so we spent a lot of money to have people come in."
Inconsistency causes shutdowns
AgShows NSW updated its derby guidelines in January, after 13 spectators were injured in a demo derby crash at Walcha in November.
Loading...The event was not associated with AgShows NSW or the Australian Demolition Derby Association (ADDA), and SafeWork NSW is still investigating.
The new regulations recommend telegraph poles, large hay bales, rubber tyres, concrete blocks, or heavy-duty chain for barriers.
AgShows NSW rules say concrete blocks are appropriate barriers for demolition derbies. (Supplied: Australian Demolition Derby Association)
The guidelines said barriers must take into consideration vehicle speeds, but no specific threshold is listed.
Despite this clarification, the ADDA reported at least seven shows had cancelled demolition derbies, due to rulings by SafeWork NSW.
These include Cessnock, Muswellbrook, Maclean, Tullamore, Uralla, Boonah, and Macksville, which the ABC has contacted.
ADDA vice president Shane Ryan said SafeWork NSW has been making inconsistent decisions, often leaving show societies with just days to make changes.
Shane Ryan says SafeWork NSW rulings have been inconsistent. (Supplied: Australian Demolition Derby Association)
"We'll have events in Glen Innes and Tenterfield that are using hay bales, which are for some reason not allowed in the Hunter Valley region,"he said.
The Glen Innes demolition derby went ahead with hay bales as barriers. (Supplied: Australian Demolition Derby Association)
"There is no consistency and we are not having any communication with SafeWork, so a lot of shows are saying it's not worth having a derby."
Mr Ryan said the association's main concern was with SafeWork NSW wanting engineered barriers.
"What SafeWork wants is the barriers engineered to take a hit at 50 kilometres an hour," he said.
"Maitland was required to have water-filled barriers. It cost them $13,000 to have them for that event. Guyra show just ran and they had plastic tape around the outside, and SafeWork was there for that.
Maitland's demolition derby needed water-fill barriers, which cost $13,000. (Supplied: Australian Demolition Derby Association)
"We have no idea what the actual requirements [are], and they are not caring to tell us."
Mr Ryan said cheaper barrier options recommended by AgShows NSW and supported by the ADDA had been proven over decades of experience.
"Our board has about 200 years [of] derby experience on it … we've seen the hay work, the concrete work, the logs work," he said.
"More people come through the gate for a derby than they do any other event at agricultural shows. My opinion is that as the derbies go, the shows will be next."
The ABC contacted SafeWork NSW to clarify its stance on barrier requirements.
In a written response, a spokesperson said SafeWork NSW took injuries from mobile plant, vehicles or fixed machinery risks seriously.
They wrote that following the Walcha crash, AgShows NSW amended their operational guidelines for demolition derbies, and that SafeWork NSW was available to provide advice to event holders on how they can meet these requirements.