Operators of a major power plant have apologised and flagged legal proceedings after safety failings were exposed in a damning final report into a "catastrophic" explosion.
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But the Queensland government says it now has confidence in the state-owned operators, describing the report as a "wake-up call" for Australian corporations.
Almost half a million households were left without power after pieces of metal weighing two tonnes blasted out of a turbine at central Queensland's Callide Power Station in May 2021.
Forensic engineer Sean Brady's final report has been released three years later, prompting apologetic operators CS Energy to front the media on Wednesday.
The report found CS Energy did not value safety or implement suitable welfare processes before the "catastrophic missile event" at the plant near Biloela.
Staff had raised concerns years before the explosion that Callide was an unsafe work environment and the lack of maintenance over the years could lead to an incident, Dr Brady found.
CS Energy chair Adam Aspinall on Wednesday said it was an unacceptable outcome that had damaged trust with the community and stakeholders.
"I apologise to our employees, the government and the people of Queensland for CS Energy not having maintained the world-class performance they expect," he told reporters.
Mr Aspinall also took responsibility for CS Energy providing ambiguous information to the government in 2021.
CS Energy came under fire on Wednesday for refusing to answer reporters' questions on the explosion but Mr Aspinall said it was due to potential legal proceedings.
Energy Minister Mick de Brenni earlier claimed he received "incorrect" Callide maintenance advice from CS Energy's former CEO Andrew Bills and ex-chairman Jim Soorley.
Mr de Brenni doubled down on Wednesday, saying he had been advised by the former CS Energy bosses that maintenance had been up to scratch before the explosion.
However Mr de Brenni said he had confidence in the new-look CS Energy board with Mr Aspinall the new chair and Darren Busine now the CEO.
"They've released an action plan ... that's what gives me confidence that they will do better," he said.
"I think that report ... should be a wake-up call for all Australian corporations.
"I would urge corporations around Australia to take this opportunity and ask themselves 'are our process safety systems up to scratch?'"
The CS Energy action plan includes measures to improve safety, risk assessments, culture and systems.
The explosion occurred after a planned upgrade left the plant without a battery source and no backup was in place, the report found.
It led to the turbine taking in power, overheating and exploding.
The report said if CS Energy had safety protocols in place it could have carried out a risk assessment to understand the danger of upgrading the battery without a backup.
CS Energy had longstanding issues with its systems and the lack of effective safety protocol was not unique to the May 2021 incident, the investigation found.
The company conducted reviews into its systems but the response to fix issues "rarely addressed the underlying causes", Dr Brady found.
The Queensland government has appointed new advisers to the CS Energy board, commercial law specialist Tom Fletcher and electrical engineering expert Howard Morison, and launched a review into its business structure.
One of the station's turbines will make a staged return to service in August after many delays.
Meanwhile, a separate report into the 2022 collapse of a water cooler at the power station was also released.
It found the towers had been operating for years with incorrect chemical concentrations, leading to defects of its wooden structure.
Australian Associated Press
