By Andrew Steele - 28 Feb 2013
We have previously discussed the increasing emphasis on health
and safety in the workplace. This emphasis is confirmed by
the establishment of a new workplace health and safety agency which
was recently announced. This was one of the key
recommendations that arose out of the Royal Commission on the Pike
River Coal Mine tragedy.
The new agency is to have a dedicated focus on health and
safety. It will be committed to ensuring people are well
protected from injury and death when they go to work each
day. The Minister has stated a firm target of a 25% reduction
in fatality and serious injury rates by 2020. The new agency
appears to be one of the key instruments to achieve this.
It is noted that the agency will have the same status as other
health and safety regulators, being the Civil Aviation Authority
and Maritime New Zealand, who are Crown agents. Crown agents
are at arm's length from the Minister and are the only form of
Crown entity which can be directed by Ministers to give effect to
Government policy.
At the moment there is currently a wide ranging review of
workplace health and safety systems. An independent task
force is due to report with its recommendations by 30 April.
It is expected that those recommendations will also result in
further reform, including changes to health and safety
legislation.
Consequently, health and safety changes have only just begun and
will continue rolling through. A renewed focus on health and
safety, as a result of the Pike River tragedy, is good, if not
somewhat belated, news for all workers.