Institute of Directors welcomes Pike River Implementation Plan

12 December 2012

Institute of Directors welcomes Pike River Implementation Plan

Media Release

The Institute of Directors (IoD) today welcomed the release of the Government’s Implementation Plan for the Pike River Royal Commission’s recommendations.
IoD Chief Executive, Ralph Chivers said “It is very encouraging that all 16 recommendations from the Royal Commission’s report into the Pike River tragedy have essentially been accepted by the Government. We are pleased to be a part of the Implementation Plan in regards to directors and governance (recommendations 5, 6 & 7) and we look forward to helping to implement changes that will improve health and safety in New Zealand and prevent serious harm. Every New Zealander has the right to expect that they will return home to their families after each and every work day. We are committed to working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) and the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety (Taskforce) to put in place measures to ensure that a tragedy like Pike River never happens again.”

“Directors are responsible for ensuring that all areas of risk within an organisation are appropriately assessed and that plans to mitigate and address those risks are effectively put in place. There is no area of risk with greater consequences than health and safety; people’s lives depend on the board getting it right. The IoD is committed to helping develop a code of practice that will guide directors on using good governance practices to manage health and safety risks.” said Mr Chivers.

Mr Chivers said “The IoD agrees that more needs to be done to improve health and safety performance in New Zealand and we are committed to playing our part through education and advocacy in the governance community. It is important to note that while there is always room for improvement the vast majority of companies and boards in New Zealand take health and safety very seriously and are effective at managing the risks. The Royal Commission’s report should have been a grave wake up call for any director who was not performing their duties in relation to health and safety as they should be.”

ENDS

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