Webcke’s tough road
Footy’s hard man reveals low point LIMITED TIME ONLY
A CHANCE to hear about a weak point in the life of one of Queensland’s toughest blokes has spurred workplace changes at a local level.
Former Broncos player Shane Webcke shared his story about losing his father to a workplace accident 22 years ago at the Cairns Safe Work Month breakfast forum yesterday morning.
Cairns-based Ergon Energy advanced connections officer Joseph Sciberras lost his father in a tractor accident when he was 19. He said hearing Mr Webcke’s story brought back plenty of emotion.
“My dad was killed when the tractor rolled and pinned him and crushed his chest. He was a man mountain and only 52,” Mr Sciberras said. “When Shane was talking it was hard to keep back a few tears. There was quite a ripple of devastation for everyone to pick up.”
The incident has always underpinned his own approach to workplace safety.
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Refrain from taking illicit substances or alcohol representative and hoped to instil more measures to protect mental health in the workplace after attending the conference.
“I want to talk to the bosses about providing access to counsellors and making that service readily available and removing the stigma,” he said.
“If we get the mental health side of things right, that will flow on to performance.”
Mr Webcke said he was motivated to help prevent another family from losing a loved one.
“It’s a club you don’t want to be in, to be honest,” he said.
“We look at each other with knowing eyes and, even though it’s been two decades since it happened to all of us, we can still remember the exact moment it happened.”