June 3, 2025 • 5 mins
New Zealand's roadcone hotline is being launched today, as the Government announces a suite of cultural changes for WorkSafe.
It's being instructed to move away from enforcement, and engage in earlier risk management.
WorkSafe says it's well placed to deliver on these expectations.
NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan says these changes have been met with a mixed response.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And with us right now and welcome Thomas is Thomas Coglan,
the Herald's political leves of hime mate afternoon, Heather. All right,
so how has Parliament reacted to the old work safe changes?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, look, I mean it's it's a bit of a
max bag. I have to say, like a lot of
the changes do seem quite sensible. We have a reasonably
high workplace fatality rate in New Zealand two point three
deaths per one hundred thousand, So it's lower than the
likes of the United States, Portugal and Austria which are
quite high, but it is higher than nausea which only
has about one point four deaths per hundred thousand. So
(00:31):
we do have a need for this enforcement. But you know,
as a lot of people have noticed the last few years,
some of the ways that that workplace health and safety
reform has actually been implemented has just been it seems
to be a slightly detachment reality that the thing that
most people have picked up on are the road cones,
(00:53):
which is as a sort of visual manifestation of workplace
health and safety, which which can be a bit of
a box sticking exercise and not actually in reality, right
and yeah, and we need to we need to reduce
those workplace deaths down to it.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
But it isn't I mean, doesn't it wonderfully illustrate the
point that I think Brook van Velden is trying to make.
When you look at the road cones, you can see
these guys are being overly cautious because that's so potentially
so worried about being prosecuted by work Safe that they're
just ticking all the boxes there, right, And that's that
is the problem with work Safe is people are terrified
of them coming after them.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah. Well, and that's the that's the sort of thrust
of what of what Brook van Velden is rolling out.
I think one of the one of the areas where
there has been a bit of controversy is to shift
away from shift away from enforcement to education endytia DIA.
That a few years ago and it didn't on on
on waft wafts and stuff, and that didn't that didn't
go too well. I think they reversed that change in
(01:48):
twenty eighteen. So you'd hope some sort of middle ground
can be struck because there are still quite a few
workplace deaths in New Zealand. But it doesn't seem like,
you know, plastering the country and road cones is the
thing that's going to solve. You know. Again, we've got
these high rates of workplace deaths and we've had work
Safe for more than ten years now or about ten
years now, so it's not the creation of work Safe
(02:08):
hasn't actually done exactly what what what people wanted to do?
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Hey, is everybody calming down after Winston and David had
to swap seats.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Felt really disruptive?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Well, yeah, I have to say I Shane, Shane Jones
is the one who who I keep my eye on
and question time today, Shane Jones loves a bit of
an interjection. He's view, you good at winding, winding everyone
else in the house up and he's he's yelling, yelling
things like like coal from the back of a chamber.
But it does seem like it does seem like things
have come calm down. Awey, But from the look on
(02:40):
Winston Peter's face, And don't think he likes sitting sitting
right up the back. He's right next to to partying
molding now, which is probably the last.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Right up the back is he's at the front of
the front.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Of he's the front of the back. So if you
remember the horseshoe of Parliament, ye you're he's right at
the middle of the horseshoe, and then straight on the
other on the other side of that horse shoe is
to party. So this is this is not where when
St Peters wants to wants to be spending his days.
He used to be right next to the Prime Minister.
They could have a weed chat during question time. No
(03:10):
longer have you had for him?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
How much of just this book have you read?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
I haven't got my hands on that yet that she
didn't she didn't send an embargoed copy my way I read.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
And why not? Are you on the blacklist like us?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Well? I noticed that she she didn't have kind words
for Barry in the in the in the book, which
I thought was.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Did you read it though?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Did you read it? Yes? I was? It was. I
think the sin that was that Barry seemed to ask
ask her whether she cried around the time of the
march her text, which I thought was a totally reasonable question.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
And it turns out that she did.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
She did good, good question.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
So she's crossed with him for asking it because it
was true.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yes, cross cross for a journalist cross as a journalist
for asking questions is not shocking, not shocking.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yes, it's not even the worst thing he did to her. Actually, Thomas,
thank you very much. A really she had as nice
to chat to you. Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editor.
I reckon, look, shall I tell you the worst thing
he did to her? Yeah, well, I don't know if
he's gonna be okay with us. So but when she
was still I don't know if she was the opposition
leader or not yet.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
No, she must have been. No, she must have been
the prime minister already.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Of course she was the prime minister, and you know,
like getting on with the pregnancy, and clearly Barry did
not have much time for her, which we all know
and like many of us. And so Annett tried because
Annett and Barry are friends, an Gannet King and Barry
are friends. And Annett thought, I need my friend Barry
to be friends with my friend Cinda. So she had
(04:38):
a dinner at her house and her tight tie, and
she said Barry come along. And Barry went along, and
he sat there with Ciinda and they made small talk
and they got on famously. It was lovely and then
at the end they and it said can I take
a photo for posterity? And he put his hand on
her belly.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
That is the worst. I can't believe that wasn't in
the boot. That's weird. I For more from Hither Duplessy
Allen Drive, listen live to news talks it'd be from
four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
And with us right now and welcome Thomas is Thomas Coglan,
the Herald's political leves of hime mate afternoon, Heather. All right,
so how has Parliament reacted to the old work safe changes?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, look, I mean it's it's a bit of a
max bag. I have to say, like a lot of
the changes do seem quite sensible. We have a reasonably
high workplace fatality rate in New Zealand two point three
deaths per one hundred thousand, So it's lower than the
likes of the United States, Portugal and Austria which are
quite high, but it is higher than nausea which only
has about one point four deaths per hundred thousand. So
(00:31):
we do have a need for this enforcement. But you know,
as a lot of people have noticed the last few years,
some of the ways that that workplace health and safety
reform has actually been implemented has just been it seems
to be a slightly detachment reality that the thing that
most people have picked up on are the road cones,
(00:53):
which is as a sort of visual manifestation of workplace
health and safety, which which can be a bit of
a box sticking exercise and not actually in reality, right
and yeah, and we need to we need to reduce
those workplace deaths down to it.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
But it isn't I mean, doesn't it wonderfully illustrate the
point that I think Brook van Velden is trying to make.
When you look at the road cones, you can see
these guys are being overly cautious because that's so potentially
so worried about being prosecuted by work Safe that they're
just ticking all the boxes there, right, And that's that
is the problem with work Safe is people are terrified
of them coming after them.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah. Well, and that's the that's the sort of thrust
of what of what Brook van Velden is rolling out.
I think one of the one of the areas where
there has been a bit of controversy is to shift
away from shift away from enforcement to education endytia DIA.
That a few years ago and it didn't on on
on waft wafts and stuff, and that didn't that didn't
go too well. I think they reversed that change in
(01:48):
twenty eighteen. So you'd hope some sort of middle ground
can be struck because there are still quite a few
workplace deaths in New Zealand. But it doesn't seem like,
you know, plastering the country and road cones is the
thing that's going to solve. You know. Again, we've got
these high rates of workplace deaths and we've had work
Safe for more than ten years now or about ten
years now, so it's not the creation of work Safe
(02:08):
hasn't actually done exactly what what what people wanted to do?
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Hey, is everybody calming down after Winston and David had
to swap seats.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Felt really disruptive?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Well, yeah, I have to say I Shane, Shane Jones
is the one who who I keep my eye on
and question time today, Shane Jones loves a bit of
an interjection. He's view, you good at winding, winding everyone
else in the house up and he's he's yelling, yelling
things like like coal from the back of a chamber.
But it does seem like it does seem like things
have come calm down. Awey, But from the look on
(02:40):
Winston Peter's face, And don't think he likes sitting sitting
right up the back. He's right next to to partying
molding now, which is probably the last.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Right up the back is he's at the front of
the front.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Of he's the front of the back. So if you
remember the horseshoe of Parliament, ye you're he's right at
the middle of the horseshoe, and then straight on the
other on the other side of that horse shoe is
to party. So this is this is not where when
St Peters wants to wants to be spending his days.
He used to be right next to the Prime Minister.
They could have a weed chat during question time. No
(03:10):
longer have you had for him?
Speaker 3 (03:12):
How much of just this book have you read?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
I haven't got my hands on that yet that she
didn't she didn't send an embargoed copy my way I read.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
And why not? Are you on the blacklist like us?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Well? I noticed that she she didn't have kind words
for Barry in the in the in the book, which
I thought was.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Did you read it though?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Did you read it? Yes? I was? It was. I
think the sin that was that Barry seemed to ask
ask her whether she cried around the time of the
march her text, which I thought was a totally reasonable question.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
And it turns out that she did.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
She did good, good question.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
So she's crossed with him for asking it because it
was true.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yes, cross cross for a journalist cross as a journalist
for asking questions is not shocking, not shocking.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yes, it's not even the worst thing he did to her. Actually, Thomas,
thank you very much. A really she had as nice
to chat to you. Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editor.
I reckon, look, shall I tell you the worst thing
he did to her? Yeah, well, I don't know if
he's gonna be okay with us. So but when she
was still I don't know if she was the opposition
leader or not yet.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
No, she must have been. No, she must have been
the prime minister already.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Of course she was the prime minister, and you know,
like getting on with the pregnancy, and clearly Barry did
not have much time for her, which we all know
and like many of us. And so Annett tried because
Annett and Barry are friends, an Gannet King and Barry
are friends. And Annett thought, I need my friend Barry
to be friends with my friend Cinda. So she had
(04:38):
a dinner at her house and her tight tie, and
she said Barry come along. And Barry went along, and
he sat there with Ciinda and they made small talk
and they got on famously. It was lovely and then
at the end they and it said can I take
a photo for posterity? And he put his hand on
her belly.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
That is the worst. I can't believe that wasn't in
the boot. That's weird. I For more from Hither Duplessy
Allen Drive, listen live to news talks it'd be from
four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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