#curtin university

On Tuesday of last week, I was working at home from my job at Curtin University, when, just after lunchtime, I saw a link shared in a WhatsApp group: “At least one dead as building collapses at Curtin University”. A coworker said that they had heard sirens on campus, but assumed it was a fire drill. The entire glass atrium ceiling of a new $100 million building had collapsed, sending 23 year old apprentice Jonnie Hartshorn plunging 20 metres to his death.

Two coworkers were hospitalised. One spent time in intensive care, his life hanging in the balance. Had the incident occurred 5 or 10 minutes earlier, dozens who had been on their lunch break could have been injured or killed. On the morning of the collapse, Curtin staff members were inside the building, which was nearing fit-out stage. That afternoon, the campus was a disaster zone: cops, ambulances, firefighters, unionists, Worksafe inspectors, journalists, and helicopters flying overhead to capture the horrific footage for the nightly news.

This was no mere “accident on campus”, as the heading for the Vice Chancellor’s note to staff appallingly read. It was industrial murder.

READ MORE: An industrial murder at Curtin University