O'Connor Damien: Health and Safety (Pike River Implementation) Bill — Second ReadingText is subject to correctionO'Connor Damien: Health and Safety (Pike River Implementation) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 22 October 2013. Volume:694;Page:14091. Text is subject to correction.]Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour—West Coast - Tasman): I would like to firstly say that whether by good design or divine intervention—whatever—it is appropriate that the Health and Safety (Pike River Implementation) Bill comes into the House today after we have seen for a day or so down on the West Coast an operation that starts the process of re-entering the mine to try to firstly recover any of the bodies of the 29 men who may be in the drift and secondly find out more information that may contribute to understanding what happened almost 3 years ago down at Pike River. I think the families who will be closely monitoring what is happening on the coast and may be monitoring what is happening in the House here should be comforted in some small way by the fact that that terrible tragedy has led to this legislation and it has taught each and every one of us in Parliament some lessons and hopefully I guess the whole of New Zealand some lessons. One thing that the families have come to accept for some time is that all the wonderful words that come from Parliament mean nothing and all the best legislation means nothing unless it is implemented with some sound mind with some practical implementation and with a proper level of resourcing.The bill is as has been said by previous speakers in three parts. It is a good piece of progressive legislation. It is not the answer to all health and safety in New Zealand. Indeed we are going to have to do a lot from Parliament all the way down through the system including resourcing to ensure that we have better health and safety in this country across all industries not just in mining. The reality is that we have an abysmal record. There are too many families—not just 29 from Pike River but in fact tens and tens of families across this country—every year who lose their loved ones through workplace health and safety accidents. We each have a responsibility in Parliament here to do whatever we can to stop that.In 1992 there was a naive piece of legislation passed one that effectively relied on the market and on industry to implement the highest standards of health and safety that we expected—well that we should expect in a First World country. All the testing andteasing and prodding of that legislation the Health and Safety in Employment Act over a number of years really did not give rise to any major change. I received a response from the Minister in 2010 prior to the terrible tragedy at Pike River and I will quote it because it does reflect the attitude that prevailed from 1992 until 2010: “The legislation reflects the fact that employers”—whom I am talking about—“are in a good position to understand the hazards arising in the workplace and are best placed to take steps to control them.” Well there is probably a lot of truth in that statement. The question was when they did not control them what then? Unfortunately that is what happened at Pike River. The risks were known to so many. The day-to-day deficiencies were known to the company but action was not taken. So what this piece of legislation is doing in part is starting to bring back in a regulatory regime that will place clear impositions and responsibilities on employers and employees too to make sure that action is taken where risks are identified. The sad response that I got which I read from time to time is hopefully a response that no one should ever see from a Government Minister again.We have had a number of inquiries—the royal commission—and we have had a long and agonising process for the families and we have had some sound wisdom lessons and recommendations come from that process. As I say the families should be comforted in some small way that their loss has not meant inaction. Their loss has not been wasted in any way on the collective wisdom that should be brought to Parliament. I acknowledge the Government for getting on with the job of changing legislation. But if you go to the proposals for reform coming from the summary document here one of the things that was said is that “The Pike River tragedy was preventable but administrative and regulatory reforms are urgently needed to reduce the likelihood of further tragedies.” We are almost 3 years on. I would not call it urgent. It has taken some time. I acknowledge that the bill is here and that there is some other stuff to come before Parliament but we have been told these things before and it is the responsibility of any Government—at this point it is the National Government—to get on and do things in a more timely manner.Dare I say there are some lessons around forestry that we are hearing on a regular basis and we have yet to see action in that area. This legislation will help but actually we will need more acute focus on forestry to prevent people being killed in that industry on a very regular basis. So the recommendations from the Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy must be applied across the board. Urgent action is required. I do not want to have to as a parliamentarian face any more families with comfort with my sympathy and with all the support I can offer but not with the replacement of their loved person who has been killed in a workplace accident.The recommendations are sound and I am hoping that the Government keeps to them. The next proposal which refers to the need for administrative reforms says: “Oversight of health and safety planning should start early in the life cycle of a mining project.” There are mining projects proposed in fact offKaikōura for example deep-sea drilling and we have got Bathurst Resources on the West Coast and I need to be reassured that health and safety is right up alongside capital raising and basic environmental planning because it is worthy of that first-line consideration. Unfortunately what we saw was that everything else was planned for and the lessons of Pike River are clear but health and safety was just an add-on. It cannot be like that. Just as we have incorporated environmental planning into the first part of any mining project any building project and any economic project in this country health and safety must be part of that as well.I hope that the legislation in the setting up ofWorkSafe New Zealand sets up an agency that is well resourced that can check on every proposed project and that can ensure that health and safety is part of the planning alongside capital and alongsideenvironmental management. I hope that the Government follows through with the resourcing to ensure that happens.The other two parts incorporated into the legislation to amend the 1992 Act take into account the unique aspects of mining and all underground operations and quarrying. I think that is essential and that has been widely acknowledged. Can I say that in Part 3 the setting up of Mines Rescue or giving it more authority and more autonomy and the need for more resources is just as urgent. Some of the problems that occurred at Pike River at the time of the accident were because of uncertain authority through Mines Rescue. That cannot ever happen again. The people with the wisdom and the knowledge who are on the ground should be the ones making the decisions not some person sitting on their chuff in Wellington as happened with the Pike River tragedy. It would never have brought back the lives of those 29 men but it is imperative upon each and every one of us that we support this legislation to make sure that prevention occurs at every step of the workplace operations and that whenever an accident occurs we have the right systems in place to deal with it.