Cabinet taking close interest in health and safety reforms

Senior government ministers are as interested as backbenchers in efforts to reduce the impact of proposed health and safety reforms on small businesses and farmers, according to Prime Minister John Key.

But he was unclear in comments at his weekly post-Cabinet press conference about the extent to which ministers might be involved during the recently announced two-month delay in reporting back the Health and Safety Reform Bill from the transport and industrial relations select committee.

He sought to dispel suggestions that concerns over the proposed law, which stems from the safety lapses that saw 29 men die in the Pike River coalmine in 2009, were the result of a backbench revolt, as has been widely reported.

"It's not being driven by the backbench. We want the law to be workable."

Asked if he was letting down workers to assist employers, Key said: "It's very important that we have a workable law that's practical and achieves what it seeks to do."

"We're responsible to workers and employers to make sure it works," he said, acknowledging that large employers support the draft legislation as it stands and want it passed without dilution or delay and that it was largely a "small business" issue, which was being constantly raised with ministers, including at last week's national agricultural Fieldays in Hamilton.

However, he declined to give a view about what he thought the select committee would do during its additional two months of deliberations, with no signs as yet that the committee will seek additional submissions or policy analysis.

"The Cabinet will take an interest," he said of the process through to the new report back date in late May, with any amendments from the select committee requiring Cabinet sign-off at that point. "You will just have to wait and see."

Senior health and safety executives last week called on the government not to delay or further water down the proposed changes, saying objections to tighter safety regulations were coming from groups who were most at risk at work.

"We don't want to see any undue delay or dilution," said Francois Barton, executive director of the Business Leaders' Health and Safety Forum, representing 178 of New Zealand's largest companies and organisations. "If that gets watered down, it waters down everyone's ability to play their part.

"When everyone plays their part, you can get positive change."

(BusinessDesk)