Shane Webke's no-nonsense directness and toughness helped him build a long and successful rugby league career for the Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australia.
He brings those same traits to his work as a Queensland Safety Ambassador - a role he combines these days with farming and TV sport presentations.
WorkSafe Queensland and AgForce invited him to take part in its Managing Risk forums being staged around the state - including an event that drew more than 100 farmers and industry experts to Charleville recently.
He reminded the audience that although farming employs only 3 per cent of the national workforce, it accounts for nearly a quarter of all workplace fatalities.
Shane Webke lost his dad in a accident at a Warwick wool scour 23 years ago and he shares the impact that had on him, his teenage brother and particularly his Mum, with the same bluntness as his bone-jarring tackles on the footy field.
He's equally hard on himself for perpetuating a rather cavalier "she'll be right" attitude to safety on his farm right up until it almost cost his then-6-year-old son's life - and his own.
Many of those farmers in the audience easily related to the sort of safety short-cuts he was talking about - and some had the same sort of harrowing wake-up call themselves.
Shane Webke's take home message to the rest was simple.
He's been through the hell of losing his dad and very nearly his son in preventable accidents to never again accept a "she'll be right" approach to safety. No one should.
- Media consultant, Peter Lewis
