Plan underway to make New Zealand safer

The government’s goal of making New Zealand a safer place moved a step closer today with the release of a detailed implementation plan for 2004/2005 for the New Zealand Injury Prevention Strategy.

Launching the plan in Wellington today, ACC Minister Ruth Dyson said injuries had a devastating impact on people, families and communities.

"On average, four people die each day as result of injury and around 3,800 are injured badly enough to seek medical help. Reducing this toll will provide enormous personal, social and economic benefits."

Ruth Dyson said the plan outlined the key work to be undertaken in 2004/2005 for each of the injury prevention strategy’s 10 objectives, the results expected, the timelines, and the lead agencies and key partners who would be involved. It also identified specific actions to address the injuries that represented the biggest burden on society in terms of human suffering and financial cost.

“Priority areas are motor vehicle crashes, suicide, deliberate self-harm, falls, workplace injuries (including occupational diseases), assault, drowning and near-drowning. Together, these areas account for at least 80 per cent of serious injuries and deaths from injuries in New Zealand.”

Ms Dyson said considerable progress towards reducing workplace injuries had been made this year with the introduction of elected workplace safety representatives and the establishment of a ministerial advisory panel on work-related gradual process, disease or infection.

The Injury Prevention Strategy was developed in partnership between key government agencies, a stakeholder reference group and non-government organisations, under the leadership of ACC.

“The plan has a strong cross-sectoral focus. Only through a coordinated effort from all injury prevention partners, government and non-government, will we achieve the strategy’s challenging vision of a ‘safer New Zealand, becoming injury free’.”

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