A company has been fined $140,000 over the death of a rigger who was pinned between equipment while working in the Cooper Basin.

The industrial death is the first to be dealt with under tougher penalties introduced in South Australia, but the penalty was far from the maximum because of the company's cooperation and guilty plea.

Fred Kekena, 36, was crushed to death on a Moomba rig in 2008 while using the wrong tools for the job.

Weatherford Drilling International pleaded guilty to breaching workplace safety laws.

The Industrial Court imposed a fine of $140,000 and awarded $10,000 each to Mr Kekena's partner and mother as compensation.

Andrea Madeley from victims support group VOID says she is lobbying the companies involved to help the family visit the site where Mr Kekena died.

"We just want to see this happen and we're not accepting the answer no," she said.

Mr Kekena's family, which lives in New Zealand, could not afford to fly to Adelaide for the penalty hearing.

Why was he using the wrong tools? Don't use the wrong tools and you won't get killed.

My first impression of reading the article is that the dead man was at fault. I will read it more carefully later, though.

the company pleaded guilty and cooperated

without reading the details, courts and judges normally get itright.

The problem is that I don't see what the company did wrong. Did they force the man to use the wrong tools, or did the man choose to use the wrong tools? It doesn't say, which is why I question who is really at fault.

I don't think it would make any difference Vanessa if he was using the wrong tools. In a dangerous job there should be an experienced supervisor there to ensure this sort of tragedy doesn't happen.

Obviously people can't be watched all the time, but if the company has pleaded guilty - then it looks like he wasn't being supervised properly.