An announcement today from the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon Brooke van Velden that she will be starting a substantial consultation on work health and safety, must consider the stalled progress from government and continued absence of ownership, action and regulatory clarity.
That’s according to the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum which set up an independent Taskforce to understand the country’s poor health and safety performance that costs New Zealand $4.4billion annually, and mapped out a path for improvement and progress.
The Taskforce this week released its findings, Been There. Done That A report into New Zealand’s repeated health and safety failures. The report canvassed interviews and data from senior New Zealand business leaders and stakeholders, as well as regulatory analysis, to generate five tightly focused recommendations. It makes uncomfortable reading.