New health and safety law likely to be softened on small employers' fears

Monday 25th May 2015

Health and safety reforms sparked by the Pike River coal mine disaster look set to be softened either by a select committee considering new legislation or by the Cabinet, Prime Minister John Key said.

The Health and Safety Reform Bill is due to be reported back to Parliament from the transport and industrial relations select committee this week.

While Key denied a report from the Politik political news service that former Small Business Minister Maurice Williamson was contemplating crossing the floor to vote against the bill, he acknowledged concerns about the scope of the reforms were being raised with MPs by members of the public as they moved around the country.

"If I go around New Zealand, it's an issue that gets raised with me," said Key. "Particularly, small businesses are concerned about how it would be administered and would it be fair, how onerous would it be for them to comply, and would it be effective?

"That's a genuine debate that members of the public are having with our caucus and it's something the Cabinet's going to have to consider. I've made it quite clear that when it comes back from select committee, we are going to toss it around in Cabinet and make sure that we're happy with the recommendations and the settings."

The legislation is one leg of a suite of reforms undertaken after 29 miners died at Pike River in a mine that lacked both essential life-saving infrastructure and rigorous health and safety practices.

An independent health and safety task force, led by Shell New Zealand chairman Rob Jager, made recommendations touted at the time as the most sweeping review of New Zealand health and safety structures ever undertaken, with the aim of reducing workplace deaths by 25 percent by 2020. A new entity, Worksafe New Zealand, was created under the auspices of the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment to oversee the new framework.

The bill allocates duties to the person or entity in the best position to control risks to health and safety, as appropriate to their role in the workplace, defined as the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU).

Among concerns Key was willing to acknowledge today was the treatment of volunteers and the liabilities of voluntary organisations.

New requirements for worker participation will give wide powers to elected health and safety representatives.

Key also denied rumours swirling around Parliament that Williamson had been approached to join the Act party, saying the former Minister had flatly denied the allegations.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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