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Work will not be so safe

Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, June 4th, 2025 - 11 comments
Categories: act, Brooke van Velden, health and safety, national, national/act government, same old national, workers' rights - Tags:

Workplace Relations and Safety minister Brooke van Velden has announced major changes to the way that Workplace safety is managed in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Her highlight policy is a road cone hotline. Engaging in useless culture war policies is obviously not below her. The net benefit to the country’s safety from this policy is zero. Fielding calls from people who think there are too many road cones is not going to improve work safety.

And the cost of setting up a call centre and processing complaints is unknown but cannot be insignificant.

Her letter of expectation and the Cabinet Paper are full of random anecdotal reckons that are obviously driving the policy change.

Workers apparently are part of the problem and the Minister wants Worksafe to “ensure that its approach to enforcement and prosecution is even handed, which includes strengthening its approach to worker breaches of duty”. Given that workers are the ones being hurt or killed one wonders what will be involved in this change.

Worksafe is to be transitioned away from an enforcement agency “to one that engages early and well to support businesses and individuals to manage their risks”. Unless you are a worker in which case it will be transitioned towards being an enforcement agency.

Van Velden heard from businesses essentially suggesting that they found the current law too complex and difficult to understand. I do not disagree with this. Applying the law is messy and haphazard.

Complaints about Worksafe being too heavy handed are hard to understand. The complaint that I hear most is that Worksafe refuses to take action in what appear to be clear cut cases of the law being breached and workers being injured or killed.

And there will be no further budget. Road cone hotlines and rewriting of manuals and prosecuting workers will come out of existing budgets, presumably the existing budget required to prosecute employers who breach the law.

The announcement shows Van Velden’s class preferences.

And it is deeply frustrating that law changes that were motivated by the Pike River killings are being undermined.

11 comments on “Work will not be so safe ”

  1. Kay 1
    4 June 2025 at 3:16 pm

    But the Nact business owners (read: donors) will be happy, and that's all that matters. /s

    Reply
  2. Ad 2
    4 June 2025 at 3:42 pm

    Tautoko that Mickey.

    I work in the industry with one of the highest levels of death and serious injury in New Zealand.

    And New Zealand injury rates are very high for a developed economy.

    When the Worksafe legislation came on in 2016 it was a total wakeup call to the misery and destruction our industry causes. We've worked with Worksafe for a decade to bring subcontractors up to standard. Hard fought against Kiwi bloke culture all the damn way.

    The Minister should be required to do hospital and funeral and home visits of victims.

    This deregulation is a drive to injury and death. It is evil.

    Reply
    • tc 2.1
      4 June 2025 at 5:05 pm

      totally agree and some wasteful spending thrown in for good measure with a 'cones' hotline to fan those culture war flames.

      The cones reflect a below standard of care across our roading network since Key's RONS which after over 15 years and increasing climate pressure sees us where we are.

      Councils are waiting on one off TNZ funding now to fix what they can't as they cop the flak from local as the trucks dont stop.

      My unsealed rural road has had a chunk missing 9 months now, in a very dangerous place that is sealed being too steep to take a grade. So the cones have been weeded around twice now as you need to know where the actual edge is.

      So lets have a hotline for them rather than fund their removal via roading works, WDC know exactly where and what’s required they don’t put themselves there.

      Reply
  3. Tony Veitch 3
    4 June 2025 at 4:48 pm

    In my own little bit of civil disobedience, I dobbed in every road cone in Christchurch, on line, and in the 'other' category, pointed out that this minister said, during covid, that 'we put too high a price on human life,' and that she, IMO, is a moronic f-wit.

    No effect whatsoever, of course, but it made me feel a little better!

    Reply
  4. PsyclingLeft.Always 4
    4 June 2025 at 5:47 pm

    Her highlight policy is a road cone hotline. Engaging in useless culture war policies is obviously not below her.

    Brooke GPT van Velden , in a classic look over there distraction, channels Marie Antoinette "let them eat cones".

    And re your

    Complaints about Worksafe being too heavy handed are hard to understand.

    So true. This particular very sad case just one of many…

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/487781/worksafe-never-investigated-two-temp-workers-deaths

    So it seems that rather than tightening up WorkSafe….to make Work well…Safe,we are maybe heading for a return to the Bad Old Days, where deaths were just..an expected part of the job.

    There will be blood ?

    Fuck that. Kick GPT van Velden and her NAct1 cronies…out !

    Reply
  5. Georgecom 5
    4 June 2025 at 7:54 pm

    "Ring ring, ring ring. Hello this is worlsafe"

    "Oh thank goodness, we have just had a hole collapse and 2 workers are trapped inside. Can you help?"

    "Ohhhhh sorry, yeah nah. But if you see too many road cones feel free to call us back"

    Reply
  6. feijoa 6
    4 June 2025 at 9:45 pm

    Sorry, WTF Brooke?

    Worksafe do need to provide guidance to business owners for sure. Sounds good, probably needs some more resources to do it properly. Prevention is always good.

    AS WELL AS enforcing the (dirty word coming up) REGULATIONS. (scary stuff, business owners are so AFRAID of Worksafe are they, dear me)

    Worksafe are an enforcement agency. They are THERE to enforce the law. Aren't they?

    Reply
  7. Ad 7
    5 June 2025 at 7:55 am

    It is constitutionally wrong for Government ministers to direct Crown regulatory agencies to not enforce the law.

    Worksafe aren't EECA or other bullshit quango. Worksafe put company Directors in court.

    Reply
    • Patricia Bremner 7.1
      5 June 2025 at 9:58 pm

      When has this government followed protocols ? That is a rhetorical question Ad.

      If it is not what they want, they ignore or change it, retrospectively removing obstacles.

      They do not "represent all,' just a selected few, giving tax money to "supporters and friends".

      This is so crooked they had to "fast track it' and now the new DP and his puppet want 'One Ring to rule them all." in his R S Bill. The Work Safe issue, and the Cones are working as distractions.

      It appears submitters and Winston see the danger Act have begun to ignore submitters, making passive aggressive statements, like "People who are sensible agree with me"

      He says he is "The Oppositions worst nightmare"

      No, what he is proposing is over reach, and he needs reminding he is there by the voters' grace, and people are beginning to see the self interest in much of this, and the foreign influence.

      The trend is down and hopefully out.

      Reply
  8. Anne 8
    5 June 2025 at 9:30 am

    In the words of Sergeant Schultz:



    At least he admits he knows nothing. van Velden does not have it in her to know she knows nothing.

    Reply

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