Ryan Bridge: Have we lost the plot on Health and Safety rules?

Brooke van Velden's anti-health and safety crusade's taken a rather bizarre twist - it's the plot twist nobody saw coming. 

She's consulting the public on safe activities kids are allowed to do on farms, like watering plants and collecting chicken eggs. 

It's a bit of an odd strategy, but the strategy seems to be that there's a potential problem with the law. 

Anyone under 15 is technically not allowed to do work on a working farm. You could get fined $50,000. 

But nobody's been done for letting little Johnny pick up eggs. 

So, it's a potential problem, but not an actual problem. 

The Minister's strategy, surely, is to point out how ridiculous the law is in the first place. 

But her response sounds a bit off for a Minister who says we need to get away from over regulation and consultation and nonsense and just let Kiwis get on with their lives. 

She is quoted as saying: 

“We’ll be consulting with farmers and the agriculture sector on the safety thresholds for light chores children can do on farms... while ensuring safety is not compromised.”

It does a bit gobbledegook. It sounds a bit unnecessary. It sounds a bit odd. 

If there's a problem, then why not just change it? Why consult up the wazoo through till September, then waste time and money, no official advice, and blah blah blah. 

If it's a problem, then make it go away. And quickly. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Brooke van Valden's anti health and safety crusade. It's taken
a rather bizarre twist, don't you think the plot twist
that no one saw coming all bit weird. She's consulting
the public on safe activities for kids and what they're
allowed to do on farms like I cad you not
watering plants and collecting chicken eggs. It's a bit of

(00:20):
an odd strategy, But the strategy seems to be there's
a potential problem with the law here. Anyone under fifteen
is technically not allowed to work on a working farm.
You could get fine, you could find up to fifty
thousand dollars actually, so quite a lot of money not
to be scoffed at. But nobody's actually been done for
letting little Johnny pick up eggs. So it's a potential problem,

(00:42):
not an actual problem. And the minister's strategy surely is
just to point out how ridiculous the law is in
the first place. But her response sounds a bit off.
Remember this is a minister who says we need to
get away from over regulation, away from common consultation, away
from the nonsense. Just let Kiwis get on with it.

(01:03):
Let the businesses get on with it, Let the families
get on with it and run their own lives. She's
quoted as saying, we'll be consulting with farmers in the
agricultural sector on the safety thresholds for light chores children
can do on farms while ensuring safety is not compromised.
I mean, what on earth? All a bit gobbledygook, sounds
a bit unnecessary, all sounds a bit odd. If there's

(01:28):
a problem, then why not just change it? Why consult
up the wazoo through till September, then waste time and
money on officials and advice and blah blah blah. If
it's a problem, then just make it go away quickly.
For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
to News Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or

(01:48):
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.