NT power supplier fined over man's death

(AAP) Darwin's main power and water supplier has been fined a record $70,000 over the death of a local father who was electrocuted outside his home.

Power and Water Corporation's fine is the highest in the history of the Northern
Territory's Work Health Act.
Philip Donohoe was killed in December 2006 when he grabbed a fallen tree trunk which
lay across high-voltage powerlines outside his Ludmilla home in Darwin's east.
The father of five was frozen to a branch that had 11,000 volts of electricity
streaming through it.
An insulated rod was used to free him from the Carpentaria palm but he did not
respond to cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) carried out by his wife and
19-year-old son.
He was pronounced dead at 4.16pm in Royal Darwin Hospital, about an hour after the
accident.
Last week in Darwin Magistrates Court, the Power and Water Corporation pleaded
guilty to breaching the Work Health Act after failing to ensure Mr Donohoe's safety.
The charge had been brought by NT WorkSafe.
Magistrate John Lowndes on Monday ordered the company to pay a $70,000 fine.
Outside the court, NT WorkSafe executive director Laurene Hull said the tragedy was
preventable and this compounded the "distress and trauma" felt by his wife and
children.
She said Power and Water Corporation had taken steps to improve its work safety
training for employees.
"An appropriate verbal warning and the use of a visual barrier of some sort would've
saved Mr Donohoe's life," Ms Hull said in a statement.
"The corporation should have had in place better training and procedures to ensure
such precautions were taken."
The matter is also before the NT coroner.