Mother's 13-Year Push Creates Heat Safety Hope for Workers

Thirteen years after Glenn Newport collapsed and died while working in 40-degree heat on a Queensland pipeline, his mother's tireless fight for worker safety is gaining ground.

Jenny Newport has spent over a decade calling for mandatory heat policies after her 38-year-old son died from heat-related hyponatraemia on a worksite near Roma. Glenn had been taking breaks throughout the day, but there was no official policy requiring work to stop when temperatures became dangerous.

"If there had been an overall heat policy at the time, he would still be here," Jenny told ABC Australia. She watched as coroner recommendations went unimplemented year after year, but now experts and unions are finally rallying behind her cause.

The good news is that proven solutions already exist. Professor Ollie Jay from the University of Sydney's Heat and Health Research Centre points to a success story that happens every January: the Australian Open tennis tournament.

After players collapsed during a 2014 heatwave, Professor Jay helped develop a heat policy that measures temperature, humidity, and wind speed together. The policy keeps athletes competing safely by introducing cooling measures like ice towels and increased water breaks at different heat levels.

"It can be directly applied for worksites," Professor Jay said. The research is done and the model works, protecting people while maintaining productivity.

The Ripple Effect

The momentum is building beyond one mother's campaign. Union leader Jared Abbott says a proper heat policy would actually boost productivity, not hinder it, by driving better worksite behavior and planning.

Even better, this isn't about stopping work entirely. The proposed policies use a graded approach that introduces protective measures as conditions worsen, keeping projects moving while keeping workers safe.

With extreme heat becoming more common across Australia, experts say the timing is critical. Professor Jay notes that standard weather measurements taken in shade drastically underestimate the radiant heat workers face in direct sun, meaning the danger is often worse than reported temperatures suggest.

Jenny's decade-long advocacy is transforming grief into protection for other families. What started as a mother's heartbreak is becoming a nationwide solution that proves we can adapt to climate change while protecting the people building our future.