Firms face 'horror story' over new law

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Darrin Walsh

At least half of Rotorua's businesses are ill-prepared for a new law that will hold them responsible for accidents or injuries in their workplace, according to a local health and safety expert.

Her concerns have been backed up by the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce, which has described the potential impact as a "horror story in the making".

The Health and Safety Reform Bill will be reported back to Parliament tomorrow, and aims to improve New Zealand's poor record of workplace injuries and fatalities.

Under the new law, business managers, owners, directors, trusts and other governing bodies will need to proactively manage workplace health and safety risks, and face substantial fines or imprisonment if they fail to do so.

Rotorua Securo health and safety consultant Kay Mead said the new regime was designed to move "the ambulance from the bottom of the cliff to the top" to prevent accidents and injuries.

Ms Mead believed about a quarter of businesses were doing a reasonable job at managing health and safety, while another quarter did a little bit but should be doing more.

"Then there's 50 per cent that do nothing or have a health and safety manual sitting on the shelf that's 10 or 20 years old. Those businesses really need to get some help right now."

She said if businesses waited until the new legislation came into force, they would have an "almighty task" in front of them.

The new legislation has been delayed several times while the transport and industrial relations select committee works to refine details. Once the committee has reported back to Parliament this week, the Government hopes to pass the bill as soon as possible.

Ms Mead said a sound health and safety system should protect both the workers and the business.

"It's a whole lot cheaper to get it right than it is to be prosecuted. It's about awareness. There's a lot of things you can do to prevent harm in your workplace."

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Darrin Walsh echoed Ms Mead's comments. "I think she is pretty accurate in what she is saying. For me, it is a real horror story in the making."

He said a lot of small to medium sized businesses had swept the changes under the carpet, thinking it was not something they had to worry about.

The chamber held a workshop last year and he was "bitterly disappointed" at the turnout. He said the changes put a great responsibility on owners to be aware of the risks and documenting them, as well as procedures.

"You've got to have a policy and you've got to live and breathe it. It's no longer acceptable to have a manual that sits on the shelf and never gets the dust blown off it."

About the bill

* A major change to New Zealand's health and safety system
* Part of Working Safer: a blueprint for health and safety at work
* Aimed at reducing New Zealand's workplace injury and death toll by 25 per cent by 2020
* Replacing the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992