The government’s recently announced review of New Zealand’s health and safety system puts the spotlight back on the 2015 Health and Safety at Work Act – and why it has failed to keep New Zealanders safe on the job.
According to Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden, the current rules are not fit for purpose. She has argued legal requirements that make sense in some areas don’t always make sense in others.
But the fact remains, work-related deaths and injuries have not reduced significantly in the past five years, despite the 2015 rule changes. Approximately 70 people die from work-related accidents each year – higher per capita than in Australia and the United Kingdom.
