Legal experts have criticised new laws designed to address fatalities in the Queensland resources sector.

The Queensland Government brought in industrial manslaughter laws in 2017 with maximum penalties of 20 years imprisonment for an individual, and a maximum fine of $10 million for a corporate offender.

The mining industry has been exempted from the laws.

Now, the state’s Mines Minister wants to expand to laws as part of the broader Mineral and Energy Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2020.

“Eight people have died in our mines and quarries over the past 20 months,” he said.

“These laws already apply in every other Queensland workplace.

“The committee will report to the Parliament after it has considered all of these submissions.”

But the Queensland Law Society and several mining companies say the laws are excessive.

The state government received 74 submissions on the laws from mining companies, industry bodies, unions, and workers.

Among those opposed, a major point of concern is that the bill requires critical safety statutory roles for coal mining operations be employees of the mine operator itself - not contractors.

Many groups are also opposed to the notion that employers, and senior employees, can face a maximum 20 years' imprisonment if a worker dies because of a workplace injury.

The Queensland Law Society (QLS) says existing legislation is adequate.

“QLS opposes the introduction of new criminal offences without cogent evidence to demonstrate their need and evidence that existing laws are not capable of capturing the conduct which is the target of the offence,” president Luke Murphy wrote.

“The particular framing of obligations imposed on individual duty-holders under the Resources Safety Acts have the potential to make proposed industrial manslaughter laws particularly harsh and unjust.

“QLS is particularly concerned that an accused will therefore not be able to plead circumstances of accident, involuntariness or acts independent of their will.

“In the absence of appropriate defence or excuse provisions, these provisions essentially become strict liability offences, which infringe and deny fundamental rights given to those accused of homicide offences which carry an extremely high maximum penalty.”

Mining companies Anglo American and BMA said the details of the proposed law are too extreme.

BHP says the individual offence of industrial manslaughter should be limited to the most senior levels of organisations, excluding onsite safety representatives, from prosecution.

“We have already seen this effect within our business, in that the proposed 'senior officer' offence has already generated significant anxiety amongst our SSEs [site senior executives] and those reporting to them,” it said in its submission.

“…the additional potential exposure to an industrial manslaughter offence … could make the SSE qualification, and the take-up of SSE positions, less desirable.

“The consequence of this is that the coal mining industry could face a rapid decline in the level of skill and experience held at the SSE level. This would undermine the bill's objective of strengthening safety culture.”

Anglo American's head of corporate relations, Victoria Somlyay, expressed a similar view.

“The exposure of site statutory positions and other site employees to criminal charges, with limited defences, would be a strong deterrent for the individuals in those positions to take ownership of safety-related decisions including risk assessments,” she said in her submission.

Public hearings are planned for Brisbane and Moranbah to further discuss submissions to the proposed changes.