Bridge barriers ‘the right thing’: barrister

RAISING the Tasman Bridge barriers “is the right thing to do” to prevent suicides, a Hobart barrister says — adding that the State Government should remember it could be sued for failing to act.

Australian Lawyers Alliance Tasmanian president Fabiano Cangelosi said a coronial recommendation from 2016 for the railings to be raised from their current height of 1.59m should be implemented “unless there is a very good reason not to”.

The Mercury revealed this week that Coroner Olivia McTaggart’s recommendation from three years ago had still not been implemented, amid rising concern among Hobart’s community.

Two change.org petitions calling on the State Government to raise the barrier height have garnered more than 17,000 signatures, with that number rising by the day.

“The Government is aware of the frequency with which the Tasman Bridge is used for suicide,” Mr Cangelosi said.

“Litigation on this issue is likely to be complex, but successful litigation could not be ruled out.

“Quite apart from the issue of avoiding liability, the Government should simply implement the recommendations because it is the right thing to do.”

Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson declined requests for comment.

However, in a recently released report, Coroner McTaggart noted the Government was finding the project to raise the barriers to 3m — at a cost of $8.3 million — “more complex to resolve than anticipated” due to construction challenges.

Hobart this week hosted a conference focusing on mental health and suicide run by Wesley LifeForce at the Hobart Function and Conference Centre. A suicide memorial service was held at the conference on Tuesday.

Wesley Mission CEO Keith Garner said it was important to remember the wide-ranging impact of suicide.

“The death of a loved one to suicide is life-changing for those left behind,” Mr Garner said.

“The process of mending a broken heart does not take a week, a month or a year but a lifetime.”

The State Government has secured federal funding to fix some features of the bridge, with work expected to take place by next year.

A full report on the options available to the Government is expected by the end of this year.

Anti-suicide barriers were installed on Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge after four-yearold Darcey Freeman was thrown from the bridge by her father in 2009.

The barriers were first recommended by a coroner in 2004, with a number of bereaved relatives subsequently lodging compensation claims with the Victorian government over its failure to act earlier.