Bayly Andrew: Underground Coal Mining Safety Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBayly Andrew: Underground Coal Mining Safety Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 24 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4726. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW BAYLY (National—Hunua): No one can doubt the genuine intention behind this Underground Coal Mining Safety Bill that is before us today. Each of us clearly remembers the tragedy at Pike River the enormous national wave of feeling and reaction and later on the deliberations and the debate of the royal commission.This Government has acted on all of the recommendations of the royal commission. One of these recommendations specified or requested the urgent establishment of an “effective regulatory framework for underground coal mining”. At that time reference was made to the Queensland and also the New South Wales mining industries as demonstrating best practice. As a result this Government has worked with those areas and the experts from those areas and also with our own coalmining industry in order to improve and develop our own safety regulations to ensure that a disaster like Pike River cannot or should not happen again.Following on from this in late 2013 Parliament passed legislation to significantly improve work safety in this country and included specific new regulations to address the coalmining industry. There were six principle provisions that were put forward through that legislation. The first one was about putting in place health and safety management systems. The second one was about appointing people to the newly created High Hazards Unit part of WorkSafe New Zealand. I note that 17 of those High Hazards Unit inspectors have already been appointed and are in place. The third one was about ensuring workers meet new competency requirements; the fourth about complying with strengthened emergency standards and related to that making sure that we had the right emergency preparedness; and finally the fifth was about having notification and reporting requirements that were suitable and appropriate. WorkSafe New Zealand has been established and its funding has been recently boosted by $30 million. The High Hazards Unit as I mentioned before is already in operation.I also note that the Government has made changes to the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 to complement the new mining regulations. Three new changes were made. The first one was about ensuring the competency of those carrying out electrical work in mining operations is appropriate the second was about improving the design requirements assessments and verification of safety for mining equipment and the last was about regulating and endorsing the technical requirements and maintenance of equipment used in mines. Other changes have been made to the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. They have been specifically tailored to this industry. These came into force in December 2013.As a result of the Government’s wide-ranging reforms New Zealand’s current approach towards health and safety is nearing best practice. The Government has clearly demonstrated its determination to continue the process towards making sure all workers operating in the coalmining industry are safe and that we have in place the appropriate safety practices. The reforms aim to reduce injury and death by 25 percent by the year 2020. WorkSafe New Zealand is one of the most significant overall reforms. It currently carries out about 12500 operational inspections each year.The new Health and Safety Reform Bill is currently before the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee and has been subject to long and lengthy debate. We have had the opportunity to hear many submissions. We are committed to getting it right. It is a collaborative effort with all parties in Parliament. I do note that in schedule 2 of the original draft of the bill there is specific mention of an area dealing with the mining industry. All these important initiatives have consequently pre-empted the proposals of this bill and rendered its introduction redundant in view of the wide scope of changes and the overarching regulations that have already come into place.Although commending the purpose of the Underground Coal Mining Safety Bill this National Government considers it to be a duplication of all the good work that has gone on and is currently going on. As such we do not support its introduction.