A body to focus specifically on health and safety regulation is to be set up by the New Zealand government in the wake of the Pike River mining disaster, in which 29 workers died in an explosion in November 2010.
The recommendation to set up a Crown agency for health and safety was a key one made by the Royal Commission in its report into the incident, published last November.
Currently, occupational safety and health is regulated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) – formed a year ago by the amalgamation of the Department of Labour with three other government agencies.
Safety experts in New Zealand have long felt that occupational health and safety has gradually been losing its identity within government, and that this process was only accelerated by the creation of the MBIE.
The new agency will be a Crown entity with a governing board and a minister, similar to the HSE in the UK. It will sit alongside the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety, which is currently consulting on what shape the new regulator will take and is due to report back at the end of April.
Labour minister Simon Bridges said: “The new agency will have a dedicated focus on health and safety and underlines the Government’s strong commitment to addressing New Zealand’s workplace fatality and serious-injury rates. We have a firm target of a 25-per-cent reduction of these rates by 2020.
“The Crown agent will enforce workplace health and safety regulations and work with employers and employees to promote and embed good health and safety practices.”
IOSH members in New Zealand welcomed the announcement. Mike Cosman, managing director of Impac Services, and a member of the Independent Taskforce, said: “The announcement of a new standalone health and safety agency is a positive step forward on the long journey to rehabilitate New Zealand’s failing health and safety system. But just moving the deck chairs around will not make any substantial difference if the other elements of the system are not also subject to careful scrutiny and substantial change.
“The important thing is not just to build a new inspectorate but a leadership organisation, like the HSE, that positions and resources itself to influence thinking and behaviour at the most strategic level, as well as providing the right mix of services to all types of business to help them manage their own risks.”
Chris Peace, managing director of Risk Management Ltd, added: “The news was expected but it is still exciting. How it turns out depends on how independent the new agency is, how it is staffed, and the proposed new legislation.€
