Changes to health and safety legislation proposed by the
Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van
Velden today comply with ACT party ideology, ignores the
evidence, and will compound New Zealand’s dismal health
and safety performance.
“It’s disappointing to see
the Minister has ignored the widespread consensus on what
New Zealand needs to do to improve its poor track record and
instead has chosen to carve out small businesses from good
health and safety practices,” Wagstaff
said.
“Exempting small businesses from best practice
health and safety makes no sense when we know that small
business are riskier and need more
support.
“The Government seems to think
the biggest obstacle to our poor productivity and health and
safety outcomes is too many road cones. It’s no wonder New
Zealand can’t get ahead when our leaders in Government
seem so out of touch, and have no credible responses to
these challenges.
“Given the massive
challenge we have as a country to improve our health and
safety performance, it’s astounding the Minister would
target the use of road cones and expect WorkSafe to focus
its scarce time and energy on creating a
hotline.
“The Minister has been quick to cut support
for important issues like modern slavery, and sat on her
hands on other important health and safety concerns, like
banning engineered stone. It would seem that this Government
is more concerned about road cones than either of these
issues.
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“What’s worse is that these changes are
being justified on the basis of cutting red tape for
economic growth. Good business know that proper health and
safety is not a compliance cost.
“On average there
is a workplace fatality every week, another 20 are killed
from occupational disease, and thousands more are
incapacitated by injuries. Nothing in these proposals
signals an intent to improve these numbers,” said
Wagstaff.
