9 JUNE 2015

PM’S Hands-Off Approach on Quarries Sickening

The Pike River inquiry into 29 mine deaths was told in 2011 the thousand quarries in New Zealand had not been inspected 'for ages'. Nothing has changed,” says New Zealand First.

“Mr Key made huge political capital out of the Pike River disaster, but he did nothing to protect other workers, except an inconsequential bit of paperwork,” says Spokesperson for Labour and Industrial Relations Clayton Mitchell.

“Yet another quarry accident this time at Waikari points directly to the Prime Minister’s inaction.

“Warnings were made repeatedly at the inquiry that the industry was unsafe and without checks.

“At the time there were only two inspectors for all the quarries, mines and tunnels in NZ.

“The commission believed many were never inspected. Apparently WorkSafe doesn't even know where all the quarries are.

“The National government has continued the hands-off approach to worker safety that the Pike River inquiry was told the Department of Labour had adopted since the 1990s which led to a steady increase in the number of serious harm incidents in the extractive industry.

“There should have been a call for urgent worker safety measures after the Pike River catastrophe.

“Mr Key said yesterday the government was working with the industry, clearly he is working with the industry to stop any regulation.

“New Zealand First believes there is a balance, not to push excessive costs on small business owners but to make sure workers safety is paramount.

“The government has refused to make the tough decisions.

“Mr Key must answer for the delay and lack of progress there has been in worker safety in the mining, quarry and tunnelling industries,” says Mr Mitchell.

ENDS

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