If New Zealand has a bad record for work safety, why is the coalition Government deliberately diluting health and safety enforcement?
Our work fatality and injury rate from poor health and safety compliance is considerably worse than that of Australia or Europe.
Yet the Government is going ahead with the Act-inspired dismantling of Worksafe’s ability to enforce and prosecute offenders. Instead, Worksafe will be more advisory, which means power shifts to employers whether to comply or not.
The road-cone hotline is just a populist smokescreen.
The Cabinet Paper says WorkSafe will become a more “supportive regulator”, which really means it will be more toothless. This is going to mean less compliance with work safety requirements, not more or better. Cutting corners on health and safety requirements is an easy way to cut costs.
It is estimated that our poor work safety costs the economy upwards of $5 billion a year. Why would you actively seek to make it worse? This ideological cultural war against regulations and standards is getting ridiculous.
Jeff Hayward, Auckland.
A quick solution
The speed limit on State Highway 5 around Hawke’s Bay returned to 100km/h last week after it had been lowered to 80km/h in 2022.
This and every other speed reduction had no factual basis. Most of us saw it as a socialist control. National, on the other hand, look at things quite differently. They continue to seek out progress in any and all things.
Those I have spoken to since SH5 reclaimed its 100km/h limit say that they now drive it far safely, because they can watch the road ahead, not their speedometer for fear of a pointless speeding ticket way below what the road is designed to cope with.
John Ford, Taradale.
Give us the facts
Paul Goldsmith is on a mission to make facts, not opinion, predominant in public media. His own Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, and Minister of Health Simeon Brown recently claimed a 7% increase in health funding in Budget 2025, claiming it beat both inflation and immigration.
If that claim is analysed, a significant part of the 7% was to compensate for holiday back pay. It’s misleading to make the ordinary punter believe there is actually 7% more to pay for more doctors, nurses and specialists, all desperately needed.
Goldsmith has egg on his face for besmirching the media for precisely what his ministers are culpable of. An austere Budget embellished by smoke and mirrors. Will Willis and Brown deny this?
Steve Russell, Hillcrest.
Settlers emboldened
United States President Donald Trump has emboldened the Zionist settler movement’s takeover plans in Gaza.
Our Government’s complacency makes all New Zealanders complicit in the ethnic cleansing by the Israeli Government.
Some people still try to dismiss the Israeli Government’s current campaign of terror and propaganda as “anti-Semitism”.
It’s time Winston Peters sent the Israeli ambassador home.
Pauline Doyle, Napier
Slaughter will continue
Many Israelis will have had relatives murdered during Hitler’s Holocaust. They will have seen footage of them being herded to their death, seemingly with little or no resistance.
So when Hamas murdered over 1000 innocent Israelis, it is understandable that Israel vowed never to allow history to repeat itself. Hamas is dedicated to the annihilation of Israel. Tragic as the situation in Gaza is, the blame rests fairly and squarely with Hamas and, unless and until they guarantee to lay down their arms, the slaughter will continue.
Ray Gilbert, Pāpāmoa Beach.
A country of courage
I agree wholeheartedly with Glen Stanton and Ruth Coombes’ letters (May 31) regarding the silence of our Government on the genocide in Gaza.
Palestine should be recognised as a sovereign nation.
The actions Israel and the US are perpetuating should be called out by our Government.
I feel ashamed of my country, that we don’t have the courage to stand and be counted. We used to be a country that had courage. We will be judged by history.
Diane Brown, Northcote.
