A former minister who oversaw a probe of workplace safety at the Talley’s group said the agribusiness had “serious deficiencies” and a “culture of fear” that inhibited investigations and whistle-blowers.
Former Labour minister Michael Wood yesterday gave evidence at the High Court at Auckland for TVNZ who are defending themselves against a defamation claim brought by the Talley’s group.
The Nelson-based food processor claims six stories by TVNZ reporter Thomas Mead in 2021-2022 alleging dangerous work practices and misconduct in managing injury claims were false and damaged their business.
After Mead began his reporting, WorkSafe announced it was taking a close look at the Talley’s business.
Wood, the minister at the time, said after officials had visited Talley’s sites and met with its board he “was informed that WorkSafe had come to the view that there were serious deficiencies in the Talley’s organisation that went to the top tiers of the organisation, including the board”.
Brian Dickey, KC, acting for Talley’s challenged Wood on how he had reached this conclusion given the words “serious deficiencies” did not appear in any of the weekly briefings from WorkSafe he had received at the time.
Wood said the conclusion had been conveyed in oral briefings from officials.
“The discussion that accompanied that briefing did in my recollection, and of course, the written evidence identifies that there were significant improvements that were required. I don’t think it’s inconsistent, and I do believe that is what I was advised at the time,” Wood said.
Dickey said the WorkSafe probe did not result in any prosecutions, only a handful of low-level improvement notices and asked whether this was an indication no serious problems were found.
Wood said WorkSafe adopted a collaborative approach with businesses, seeking to drive positive cultural change and avoid drawn-out legal tussles.
“WorkSafe effectively had to, not just with Talley’s but other organisations, ration its resource in respect of prosecutorial activity. And they were, frankly, often more cautious about that with companies that they believed might engage in extensive litigation to delay and push out proceedings,” Wood said.
Wood said it was unusual that the chief executive of WorkSafe met with the Talley’s board as part of his probe, and said he could recall no such other instances from his time as a minister when an employers’ board had been subject to such a meeting.
Dickey pressed Wood on evidence to back his assertions, and suggested he – a unionist before Parliament and now director of E tū – was re-litigating industrial relations struggles between Talley’s and its Affco subsidiary and the unions.
“I’m looking for the evidence. Documentary evidence in particular that supports everything you’ve just said,” Dickey asked.
Wood said the lack of documentation of Talley’s failings was also partly due to what he described as a “culture of fear” at the company.
He said union officials and health and safety professionals had conveyed a view that: “Talley’s was an employer who was uncooperative, that would engage in tactics and behaviour, which made it difficult to get a good insight into what was happening, and that also at times, there was a culture of fear, which meant that some people were afraid to speak up”.
A key complaint by Talley’s is TVNZ’s use of anonymous sources - employees or contractors at Talley’s factories - who were used in broadcasts and claimed they did not want their names known by the company over fears of retaliation.
Wood said Talley’s was a major focus of WorkSafe and practitioners in the health and safety sector.
“The top three organisations or sectors who were talked about in terms of there being a problem in respect of health and safety, were the ports, forestry, and Talley’s,” Wood said.
Dickey brought up Wood’s abrupt end to his parliamentary career where he had resigned after he was found to have a number of shareholdings in companies that represented a conflict with his ministerial roles.
“I resigned as a minister in June of 2023,” Wood said.
“In what circumstances, Mr Wood?” Dickey asked.
“I made a number of errors in respect of my financial investments. And due to the issue and distraction of that situation, I resigned from my roles.”
The trial, before Justice Pheroze Jagose and now expected to run for five weeks, continues.
Matt Nippert is an Auckland-based investigations reporter covering white-collar and transnational crimes and the intersection of politics and business. He has won more than a dozen awards for his journalism – including twice being named Reporter of the Year – and joined the Herald in 2014 after having spent the decade prior reporting from business newspapers and national magazines.