Jonathan Stockley: Farm safety policy won't shackle

What can possibly be more important than the health, safety and wellbeing of these farmers?

What a great shame that Hugh Pearse and his colleagues seem to be expending so much time and energy on discussions which appear to conclude that the health and safety legislation due to come into force next year will be "detrimental" to Hawke's Bay farmers.

What can possibly be more important than the health, safety and wellbeing of these farmers, their employees and all of us affected by what they do?

Nothing, absolutely nothing, not even the welfare of the animals they look after so carefully.

Mr Pearse and his colleagues are absolutely correct in concluding that "piles of paperwork will not prevent death or injury". What will prevent death and injury are safe working practices, good supervision and a vibrant and positive health and safety culture on each and every farm.

Health and safety must not be thought of as an unfortunate and time-consuming "add-on" to a business but as a natural, integral part of doing the job properly and well; it's all about being professional.

Good management of health and safety can never, in any way, be "detrimental". Policies, procedures, risk assessments and other records are not difficult to create, they are useful tools in helping to develop safe systems of work and they are the proof that you have done what the law requires. All you have to remember is to keep it simple. It's not hard.

Legislation and regulation are rarely perfect and the new Health and Safety at Work Act will certainly have its faults, but the aims of this legislation cannot be argued with, the challenge will be to achieve those aims simply, quickly and effectively.

Kiwi farmers are renowned the world over for being hard-working, innovative, resourceful and very good at what they do. So come on guys, stop griping about how this new legislation is going to shackle you and get in the way of what you want and need to do, and turn your energy into finding better and safer ways of working.

Health and safety is not hard, it's only a burden to your business if you think it's going to be.

You are some of the best growers and livestock farmers in the world, and you have the capability to be the safest agricultural industry in the world too.

Stop saying how hard it will all be, stop the hand wringing and rise to the challenge and show us what you are really made of. If the All Blacks can do it every week so can you.

- Jonathan Stockley has worked in the UK land-based industries for all of his life. For the past 20 years he has run his own business as a health and safety adviser and trainer in the UK and is currently health and safety adviser to the UK's National Association of Agricultural Contractors. He has worked with the UK's NPTC developing a range of qualifications relating to the use of pesticides, health and safety and on-farm quality assurance. He moved to Hawke's Bay with his wife Judith in 2011 and now lives and works here.

-Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz