Fifteen years after the Pike River mine disaster that killed 29 men, Aotearoa New Zealand’s workplace health and safety record remains poor, with fatality and injury rates among the highest in the developed world.

Despite reforms following Pike River, including the creation of WorkSafe in 2013 and the Health and Safety at Work Act in 2015, NZ continues to record twice as many workplace deaths as Australia and four times as many as the United Kingdom, per capita. Workplace injuries and illnesses cost the country an estimated $5 billion each year.

A new Public Health Communication Centre Briefing by leading health and safety experts finds that weak enforcement, inadequate fines, and poor understanding of legal duties by employers and political leaders are key reasons for the lack of progress. It warns that proposed changes to shift the regulator’s focus from enforcement to advice, alongside ACC’s move to deprioritise injury prevention, risk further undermining worker protection.

“Other countries have shown what stronger political and managerial leadership can achieve,” says lead author Dr Chris Peace from Victoria University of Wellington. “We need better enforcement, higher penalties, and clearer guidance so businesses understand their obligations and the benefits of effective health and safety management.”

The Briefing lists moves that would improve workplace safety and performance in NZ.

• Increasing fines to match inflation and act as real deterrents
• Requiring businesses to appoint a competent workplace health and safety adviser
• Actively informing all directors and managers of their legal duties
• Using real-time data to target high-risk sectors and hazards
• Moving to eliminate hazards rather than relying on personal protective equipment

The Briefing also points to overseas examples such as introducing corporate manslaughter laws and unlimited fines for serious offences, which would signal that the lives and wellbeing of workers are taken seriously.

The authors conclude that effective workplace health and safety is not only about compliance but is also good for productivity and business performance.

“We owe meaningful reform to the memory of the 29 men who died at Pike River,” says Dr Peace. “Fifteen years on, it is time for leadership that truly values the safety and dignity of New Zealand workers.”

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