Ten years ago this week, Kay Catanzariti answered the call no parent wants to receive.
Her 21-year-old son, Ben, had been killed on a construction site at the Kingston foreshore when a concrete boom collapsed on him and two other workers.
As his family sped to Canberra from their home in Griffith, New South Wales — almost 5 hours away — they had no idea they would still be fighting for justice a decade later.
Today, Mrs Catanzariti says time has dulled neither her pain nor her determination.
"It still feels like it's yesterday," she says.
Prosecutors ditched case when evidence was challenged
The accident happened when workers from a local concrete company were operating a Schwing Australia concrete pump.
The coroner's report says an inspection revealed the "obvious failure of the slew ring bolts securing the base of the boom arm, upper turret and slew ring to the concrete pump".
Just why and how the bolts failed will never be known.
The ACT's Director of Public Prosecutions charged Schwing Australia and an engineer, arguing the bolts had been incorrectly tightened during maintenance.
But the case was abandoned and the charges dropped after competing expert reports, which suggested other causes for the bolt failures.
Mrs Catanzariti says that decision was her lowest point.
"They will not tell me … because of those three conflicting reports — why did those bolts fail?" she says.
"That's what I want to know."
No resolution, no apology for those left behind
The family say they felt abandoned by the legal system, which left them to pursue justice for Ben.
"At the end of the day, why is it my responsibility? I am the mum," Mrs Catanzariti says.
Another grievance is the fact that no-one has said sorry to her, which she says causes particular hurt.
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union's Zac Smith agrees.
"I think that the government should consider giving an apology to Kay and her family," Mr Smith says.
"It's the very least after 10 years and a denial of justice.
"It should outrage every Canberran that we have a system where no-one was held to account."
Building industry's gradual improvements in years since death
Since the accident, the local industry has undergone some changes.
A review of work safety led to the appointment of unionist and lawyer Jacqueline Agius as the independent Work Health and Safety Commissioner in 2020.
She has been building her organisation's capacity, training staff in everything from using drones to forensic photography, and developing cases for prosecution.
"We have made significant improvements in the way we investigate matters," she says.
Ms Agius is about to receive a major report of work safety prosecutions in the ACT, which will contain further recommendations for the government.
She says one idea of Mrs Catanzariti's that she has taken up is the appointment of a family liaison officer.
Australia has uniform workplace laws with three categories of offences, including maximum penalties of up to five years' jail and $3 million in fines.
The ACT has gone a step further, introducing the offence of industrial manslaughter, which carries a 20-year jail term and fines of up to $16 million for companies.
Nonetheless, the union and Mrs Catanzariti say more must be done.
Mrs Catanzariti says her experience shows that investigators need more expertise.
Mr Smith says prosecutors, too, need similar assistance.
"We do now need to have dedicated prosecution resources for [work, health and safety] matters," he says.
Ms Agius says this may be difficult in a small jurisdiction like the ACT, but does not disagree with the idea.
But she says it is likely that investigations will remain local.
"The difficulty with that sort of [national] scheme is the jurisdictional differences," Ms Agius says.
"Worksafe ACT has the jurisdiction to investigate workplace incidents in the ACT — nobody else has that jurisdiction."
Family, union call for tougher penalties for unsafe companies
The union and Mrs Catanzariti are also angry about the penalties for companies that breach safety rules, particularly when this leads to a death.
"They should not be allowed to be able to apply for any government jobs permanently," Mrs Catanzariti says.
"I believe there should be the strongest deterrent out there of jail time."
Mr Smith has called for a licensing scheme for developers.
"It's our view that developers prepared to flout the laws have too much of an easy run in the ACT."
Ms Agius says she would support a licensing system, though ACT regulators already take a company's safety records into account.
Mrs Catanzariti cannot turn back the clock. Every day, she is faced with the same harsh reality.
"I'll never get accountability for Ben's death," she says.
Yet that hasn't stopped her lobbying far and wide.
She has already made her next appointment with the new federal government as she works with others for safer workplaces.
