Another farm death

23 comments on “Another farm death ”

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1. mickysavage 1

   28 August 2015 at 10:54 am

   The symbolism of this is breathtaking. Sometimes the most carefully crafted Crosby Textor spin lines are no match for reality or fate.
2. Chooky 2

   28 August 2015 at 11:28 am

   like driving on the road …safety checks of equipment ….evaluations have to be made ….decisions have to be made…and it can be fatal to cut corners and take risks…as in all horticulture, viticulture….mountaineering , skydiving , boat safety, underwater diving….forethought and experience is everything ….so yes there does need to be some sort of safety education/reminders…
3. BM 3

   28 August 2015 at 12:19 pm

   I thought Labour was thinking of going into coalition with NZ first.?

   Part of NZ firsts strategy was to go after the rural vote, therefore eating into Nationals vote.

   With Andrew Little bleating on about health and safety on farms and the need for even more red tape, there’s no way farmers would vote NZ first if there was even chance they were going to go into coalition with Labour.

   Politically this isn’t very sharp.

   [r0b: As author of this post my apologies to anyone offended by the discussion here. This comment, for example, I believe is inappropriate.]
   • Pat 3.1

     28 August 2015 at 12:31 pm

     so what you are saying BM is that Labour should allow this farce to continue unabated to enhance their chances of seizing the treasury benches at the cost of 20 workers lives per annum?…. the same strategy as National….revealing.
     • BM 3.1.1

       28 August 2015 at 12:35 pm

       If you read any boards that are farmer orientated the overwhelming view is that they’re already drowning in health and safety red tape.

       Andrew Littles enthusiasm to add a ton more will go down very poorly.

       Read the first paragraph.

       http://www.dairynz.co.nz/people/compliance
       • Pat 3.1.1.1

         28 August 2015 at 12:49 pm

         didnt human sacrifice to the gods die out with the Incas?
   • weka 3.2

     28 August 2015 at 12:32 pm

     what isn’t politically sharp? Someone dying at work on a farm?
     • BM 3.2.1

       28 August 2015 at 12:37 pm

       Fucking up NZ firsts strategy, you lefties are always going on about working together.
       • lprent 3.2.1.1

         28 August 2015 at 1:10 pm

         You are full of bullshit and have a seriously warped view about what politics is there for.

         The idea about political parties is that they reflect differences in their supporters, and those supporters seldom agree with each other. So the Greens have different priorities to NZ First, and vice versa. Both have differences with Labour. Voters vote for whatever party and MPs that they think most clearly reflects their views.

         With NZ First, I’d expect a different farm health and safety policy from either Labour or the Greens (or National) that they fight hard for. Voters decide which one they want to support.

         It will move the features and policies in resulting coalitions in parliament (at least if they aren’t a microparty of one or two in a governing coalition).

         BTW: I don’t think that the micro parties (Act, UF, MP) are worth worrying about for the next parliament. It is pretty clear that voting for a micro party is pretty damn useless in terms of shifting policies. They just wind up as a yes party for a larger part of their coalitions.
   • Johan 3.3

     28 August 2015 at 1:13 pm

     Farmers, when they decide to visit the voting booth, tend on the whole to vote National. What is this NZF coalition stuff?
     The Health and Safety legislation is a joke. It is about time that taxpayers dock the wages of time-wasting politicians.
   • Lanthanide 3.4

     28 August 2015 at 4:58 pm

     You realise that NZ First voted against this bill, just like Labour did, right?
4. Craig Glen Eden 4

   28 August 2015 at 1:17 pm

   I lost my step brother in a Quad bike accident on a farm he was 42 and a Father of 3. Quad bike deaths on farms needs to stop. My condolence’s to the family involved in this latest tragedy. For the record I find BM’s comments quite offensive and think out of respect to this persons family his comments should be removed they are highly insensitive. A human life has been lost after all and a family will be grieving.

   [r0b: Sorry to hear of your loss. I agree that BMs comments are in poor taste, but I don’t think they justify deletion (he is pursuing a political line on a political blog). I will add a comment.]
5. Adrian 5

   28 August 2015 at 1:51 pm

   Quads are dangerous and so are farmbikes, inherent instability etc. It’s almost certainly possible to design a quad thats a lot safer, you only have to look at the front suspension design to realise that.
   Calls for bans etc are ridiculous , “Lets go back to horses ” , yeah greatidea, then the accident and death rate would go through the roof.
   Recreational horse riding is according to Steven Levitt in ” When To Rob a Bank ” 7 times more fatal than motorsport on an hourly basis.
   What we are not seeing is any figures as to whether farming is more or less dangerous than in the past.
   I suspect it is by a long way, because everything else is, from air travel to riding a bike.
   The only stats I remember seeing was some years ago and the “Road Toll ” for the 1880s on a population basis adjusted to about 3.5million, was around 3750 deaths a year.

   Farming is dangerous and bugger all legislation put together by shiny arses in an office is going to make much difference and while zero deaths is a noble target it may well be impossible.
   .
   • Pat 5.1

     28 August 2015 at 3:13 pm

     yes farming is dangerous and it is true you cannot legislate away accidents but that dosnt excuse the blatant manipulation of the H&S Act by this National Government, particularly in light of their undertakings after recent events
6. MrSmith 6

   28 August 2015 at 2:49 pm

   The Classification of Farming as low risk is just another subsidy by stealth for the poor old cry me a river farmers, on top of the all the concessions in the TPPA like the ones around Pharmac which will be offset by opening up markets for dariy etc, another subsidy by stealth that will be paid for by everyone, yet the farmers profit again, New Zealand farmers like to wank on about how they are not subsidised by the government, bullshit! Environment Canterbury anyone.
7. Esoteric Pineapples 7

   28 August 2015 at 8:02 pm

   The farming community doesn’t want their right to be killed on the job taken away from them.
   • Skinny 7.1

     28 August 2015 at 9:32 pm

     It didn’t take much convincing from Judy’s disgruntled lapdogs. So soon blood on their hands. Tragic.
8. weston 8

   28 August 2015 at 9:38 pm

   i think it sucks that hs now has agents creeping about in the country hideing in bushes so to speak in order to bust farmers not wearing helmets on there bikes if i was a farmer id be fucked off too .its just not right not to have any privacy literally anywhere .on the subject of quads now that farmers have so fully embraced them as indispensable they just need to learn how to ride them .education is better than more and more and yet more bloody rules
   • Muttonbird 8.1

     28 August 2015 at 10:00 pm

     Education, you say? A special quad bike licence, you say? A licence which must be enforced otherwise the cowboys won’t sit it, you say?
     • weston 8.1.1

       30 August 2015 at 7:49 pm

       just saying we got more than enough bloody rules and regulations now and a more intelligent strategy than simply creating MORE laws ought to be thought about !!
9. david 9

   28 August 2015 at 10:32 pm

   Acc profiles should have been used to establish risk.

   I would have thought farmers would be getting tired of quadbike deaths by now. Shame the lives of farm workers have been traded in a political deal.

   You have got to hand it to this government. They are getting away with blue murder and still on 50% support. Sheer brilliance!
10. Smilin 10

    29 August 2015 at 1:03 pm

    Where is their free market insurance to cover all these safety problems
    If insurance worked properly you would see farmers really do something about their workplace problems because they wouldnt be able to whinge about ACC levies and lobby the govt for protection as it would be their problem to deal with and likewise if workers bought accident insurance they would have bargaining power because no cocky wants to go to court
    And ACC would be kept purely to pay medical costs in accidents and the loss of income and property damage would be decided between the employers insurance company and the workers ins. co. just like automobile accidents
    This is not a govt its a lobbying system
11. Treetop 11

    29 August 2015 at 3:54 pm

    Exempting farmers and their employees shows me how warped the government is when it comes to the danger that lurks for those who work in farming. Health and Safety legislation is not seen as being required on the farm by the government. This is foolish and inexcusable.

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