New law won't stop another Pike River

Pike anniversary: Warning attitudes need to change or similar disasters could happen again

18 November 2015

New law alone will not prevent another Pike River – that will require a big change in attitudes towards workplace health and safety, the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum says.

The fifth anniversary of the Pike River mining disaster tomorrow comes just months before a new, stronger, health and safety law comes into force, Forum Executive Director Francois Barton says.

But anyone who thinks the new law alone will fix New Zealand’s workplaces health and safety problems is “dreaming”, Francois warns.

“There is still a lot of work to do to lift health and safety standards in New Zealand anywhere near those of countries like Australia and Britain,” he says.

“Stronger law and a better-resourced and well-directed regulator are critical ingredients. But frankly it’s not going to make enough of a difference unless we also see a big change in ownership and attitudes towards health and safety in New Zealand.

“Some people still talk about health and safety like it’s a hand-brake, something imposed by the ‘PC brigade’ and the ‘fun-police’ to stops real Kiwis getting on with their jobs. The odd concussion, broken ankle, lung damage – they’re all considered par for the course; a natural consequence of work.

“That’s nonsense. Injuries like that aren’t natural consequences of work – they’re the result of poor management, lack of ownership and unsafe practices. We know from the experience of industries like aviation that it is possible to do even very dangerous work relatively safety.

“It’s time for New Zealanders to radically change our attitudes towards health and safety – to take ownership and start seeing it as a way to make our businesses more professional, resilient and productive over the long-term.

“If we don’t get an increase in ownership and an attitude shift we won’t have learnt the lessons from Pike River – and the new law won’t be enough to protect us from another similar disaster happening again in future.”

ENDS

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