Kevin Geoffrey Purse (born 16 March 1952) is an Australian social scientist, public servant, economist, trade unionist and writer. Purse has experience with Work Health and Safety issues in the trade union movement, public service and academic institutions. Purse is one of the pioneering academic voices in complex Work Health and Safety issues in Australia and, more specifically, South Australia.
Education.
Purse holds a Bachelor of Economics from Flinders University, a Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences and a Doctor of Philosophy in Workers’ Compensation Policy from the University of Adelaide, his 2003 thesis titled "Workers' Compensation Policy in Australia: Contention and Controversy 1970-1996 explained the policy shifts and underlying changes in workers' compensation policy and arrangements that took place in Australia from 1970 to 1996". His thesis focused on the changes to workers compensation policies and legislation which took place in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.
Career.
In the 1970s, Purse worked in various Australian Commonwealth Public Service, including as a clerk for the Commonwealth Taxation Office.
In the 1980s, Purse was a member of the South Australian Asbestos Advisory Board and the South Australian Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Purse worked in several roles with a number of South Australian trade unions, including the Public Service Association of South Australia and the United Trades and Labor Council in the 1980s and 1990s, leading campaigns, including the call to ban Organochlorine pesticides in South Australia following the ban in a number of other countries around the world due to their toxic and carcinogenic nature.
In 1983, the National Library of Australia and the Watson High School in the Australian Capital Territory were marred by staff picket lines due to health-related issues related to asbestos in the Library and School; Purse and colleague Ian Furnes were appointed as independent inspectors and prepare a report for the Commonwealth and ACT Governments and ACT Labor Council. The report recommended a carefully controlled removal of asbestos from the Library and School and suggested a number of legislative initiatives for the ACT Government to consider, including the licensing of asbestos-removal contractors. The report also concluded that there was a total absence of legislative and ancillary provisions concerning all aspects of asbestos usage, control and removal and the concomitant hazards posed to workers' health in the Australian Capital Territory.
From 1995 to 1998, Purse was the Chief Inspector (also known as the "Assistant Director, Inspectorate Operations") of the Australian Capital Territory WorkCover authority. During his tenure the demolition of the Royal Canberra Hospital disaster occurred in 1997, where large pieces of debris reached spectators situated 500 metres away on the opposite side of the Lake at a designated safe viewing location leading to the death of a twelve-year-old girl, Katie Bender. Following the incident, the actions of Purse as Chief Inspector and other two other inspectors at the ACT WorkCover Corporation were called into question .
Purse and his colleagues were found not to have been at fault for the disaster or death of Katie Bender, however, the WorkCover authority itself was found not to have followed established safety processes in failing to ensure that the explosive work plan required by the ACT Demolition Code of Practice was met and in scrutinising departures from the original demolition work plans by the demolition company and to issue appropriate prohibition notices in accordance with the OH&S Act to ensure the methodology was safe, not only to the workplace employees but also to the public.
Academic career.
Purse returned to South Australia in 1998, following the election of his wife, Steph Key, to the South Australian Parliament. On his return to Adelaide, Purse pursued a career in academia.
In 2015, Purse was heavily involved in the ; the review focused on identifying provisions within various Industrial Awards in Australia that required adjustments to ensure their alignment with the National Employment Standards; Purse's work assisted the Fair Work Commission in providing the framework for the Commussion to make the necessary changes.
Boards and committees.
Purse has been a member of the South Australian Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Board (WorkCover), and Commissioner, South Australian Occupational Health & Safety Commission.
He has been a member and president of the Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia. He was a member and public officer (1999–2024) of the Western Suburbs Residents Environmental Association.
Political involvement.
In 1993, Purse, along with six others nominated for pre-selection of the seat of Ross Smith following the resignation of then-Premier of South Australia, John Bannon; those nominating included several high-profile trade unionists, the son of former Premier Don Dunstan and Mark Butler who is Australia's current Minister for Health. Labor pre-selection and, at the 1993 by-election ultimately, the seat was eventually won by Ralph Clarke.
Personal life.
Purse was born on 16 March 1952 in Tiverton within the counties of Somerset and Devon in the United Kingdom to parents Louis Purse (1925–2023) and Mary Cosgrave (1926–2005). Purse has two sisters, who immigrated from the UK, and a brother who was born in Australia. On 15 September 1959, the Purse family migrated to Australia under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme; departing from the port town of Tyburn in Essex aboard the SS Orontes and arrived in the Port of Freemantle on 13 October 1959.
In 1989, Purse married Steph Key, a fellow trade unionist and a former South Australian Labor Government Minister led by Mike Rann.