Scott Alastair: Health and Safety Reform Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeScott Alastair: Health and Safety Reform Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 30 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5529. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ALASTAIR SCOTT (National—Wairarapa): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. I rise in support of this very important piece of legislation the Health and Safety Reform Bill. Today I wear a dark armband for two reasons: in remembrance and acknowledgment of the passing of my partner Robyn’s father John Calvert Noble-Campbell yesterday afternoon and the passing of all those who have died at work.The Labour Party is not the only party that remembers those who have died at work. It is not the only party that is concerned about the health and safety of people at work whether it is deaths or long-term injuries. Labour is not the only party that is aware of the cost of these deaths and long-term injuries in the family in the community and across the country. We acknowledge that there are too many workplace deaths in New Zealand and that is why this bill is before the House today.I would like to acknowledge the general cooperation from the Opposition members on the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee and I would also like to acknowledge at this stage Mr Damien O’Connor who brought to the House in recent months his member’s bill which related to the health and safety of specifically coalminers. It is very important that we all contribute to the health and safety of workers because we all want the same thing: we all want our workers to be safe at work.“She’ll be right.” is not good enough. It is not right at all. “Sweet as. That’s fine. I don’t care too much about this or that.”—the attitude in New Zealand when it comes to health and safety is not up to scratch and as a result we have deaths and long-term injuries in our workplaces. So it is the attitude that must change. The legislation alone will not change the behaviour in our workplace.We will all remember not long ago when seatbelts were brought in as being compulsory. I remember at least sliding around the backseat of the car despite the fact that seatbelts were compulsory—sliding around the backseat of the car or even the front bench of the Holden Kingswood as mum and dad turned the corner. It took many years for attitudes to change despite legislation being in place at the time. “It will never happen to me. It’s never going to happen to anyone I know. She’ll be right.” is not good enough.There are several myths regarding this legislation that I would like to clear up. Most people talk about the need for common sense. They ask why we cannot have common sense in this legislation. Why can we not have fewer rules and regulations in this legislation? Why can we not have the individual taking some responsibility for himself or herself in this legislation? Well the legislation does all of those things. The framework is actually very simple. It is based on common sense. It demands reasonable practicable behaviour from all those involved whether you are at the top of the pile as a director of a company or whether you are the lowest-paid worker in the business. You are required to apply common sense and reasonable and practicable behaviour because we are all responsible for the health and safety of ourselves and the health and safety of our work colleagues.All we need to do is consider health and safety as we do our financial results in the case of a business owner. That is all we require. There is a lot in this bill that is going to please a lot of people once they get their head around it. It is not difficult to understand. For the farmers—the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety has explained the issue around farmers giving access to their land to recreational users. That is a myth that has been busted. Volunteer groups are concerned and have been concerned. The Minister has busted that myth.My point is that the bill is common sense. It will assist in changing the attitudes of New Zealanders towards health and safety in the workplace. I commend this bill to the House.Debate interrupted.