Look after your property
Four years ago we published an article about the risk of fire in the rural sector and the consequences of not holding appropriate insurance cover (Rural eSpeaking, Issue 12, Winter–Spring 2013). The number of rural fires throughout the country seems to be increasing each year.
Gisborne fire
Recently Stuff reported on a case in Gisborne[1] where the Gisborne District Council was found by a judge to have acted negligently by “failing to address a fire hazard on its block of land” when a fire began on the land and caused damage to the neighbouring sawmill owned by Double J Smallwoods Limited. The judge ordered the council to pay Double J Smallwoods’ owners more than $875,000 in damages for the loss caused by the fire, which had occurred some seven years before.
Continue reading
Enforceable undertaking accepted by WorkSafe after two students hurt in St Kentigern’s Sweeney Todd production
WorkSafe New Zealand has accepted an enforceable undertaking from the St Kentigern Trust Board following an incident in which two of their students were hurt during its production of Sweeney Todd in April last year.
WorkSafe’s investigation found that the board breached the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) by failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of students was not put at risk from work carried out as part of the business or undertaking.
Continue reading
New health and safety legislation comes into force in early April. Organisations should always be aware of their obligations and responsibilities regarding health and safety. This is even more so now as new law, the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, comes into force on Monday, 4 April this year. A summary of the most significant changes is set out below. We follow this with some practical steps to take to give you and your organisation the best chance of complying with the new legislation.
Continue reading
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 comes into force on Monday, 4 April this year. Since the Pike River tragedy thrust workplace health and safety firmly into the limelight we have published several articles outlining the likely changes to health and safety law.
We thought it would be a useful exercise to summarise the main changes that have been made and how they will affect the rural community.
Continue reading
Significant changes for organisations with volunteers
In last year’s Spring edition we included an article on the proposed reform of New Zealand’s health and safety law. The new law will come into force on Monday, 4 April this year. Despite some of the originally proposed changes being watered down in the final stages of drafting the new Act there will still be significant effects for you, your business or your organisation. This article looks specifically at implications for organisations with volunteers.
Continue reading
The Health and Safety Reform Bill heralds the greatest change to health and safety law in over two decades. With the election over, we await the Select Committee Report (due any day) and the continuing passage of the Bill. If you’re in business, this article gives you a snapshot of some of the significant proposed changes. Continue reading
The Independent Taskforce on Workplace Heath and Safety (the Taskforce) delivered its report to the Minister of Labour, Hon Simon Bridges in April 2013. The Taskforce has said there are “significant weaknesses” in New Zealand’s health and safety system coupled with “the absence … of elements to drive major improvements or to raise expectations.[1]” With the spotlight firmly on health and safety, especially following the Pike River disaster and the Christchurch earthquakes (including the collapse of the CTV Building), it’s likely that the Taskforce’s recommendations will be adopted and implemented within the next 6–12 months. Continue reading
