{"id":87372,"date":"2025-10-19T02:12:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T02:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/87372\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T02:12:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T02:12:08","slug":"worksafe-releases-new-forestry-guidelines-in-hopes-of-reducing-harm-in-the-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/87372\/","title":{"rendered":"WorkSafe releases new forestry guidelines in hopes of reducing harm in the industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Approved Code of Practice highlights WorkSafe\u2019s expectations for managing health and safety within the sector. <\/p>\n

This time around, the guidelines were more relevant and a \u201clot less prescriptive\u201d, Ihaka said. <\/p>\n

He felt the new approach allowed managers to control risks on the ground. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re such a dynamic environment, it\u2019s nature,\u201d Ihaka said. <\/p>\n

One day they might have risk management in place but the next day the winds could change direction or the temperature could drop. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe environment changes so quickly, we have to be able to adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ihaka said health and safety was \u201cvery much\u201d taken seriously in Northland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, if you\u2019re in the forestry industry and you don\u2019t take safety seriously, you\u2019re not going to last long.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said forestry was dangerous but also under great public scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Safety was deeply embedded throughout the supply chain, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201c… And I think the people that invest in our industry also want to know they\u2019re investing in an industry that\u2019s safe. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo one wants to invest in an industry where you\u2019re putting lives at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ihaka felt the new approach opened up important discussions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the discussions is actually part of having the solution [to safety],\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Following an independent review into forestry safety in 2014<\/a>, there had been a lot of progress around safety, he said.<\/p>\n

Looking back at the industry 20 years ago, he said there were new machines and practices in place to protect workers.<\/p>\n

Forest Protection Services had been part of developing the guidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is always a lot of discussion between the regulator and contractors and employees, but I think we\u2019ve landed in a good place.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said generally speaking, the feedback from the changes was \u201coverwhelmingly positive\u201d.<\/p>\n

WorkSafe chief executive Sharon Thompson said the new guidelines were easier to understand and more up-to-date. <\/p>\n

She said forestry had a fatality rate 20% higher than other industries, and the hope was that the new code would help reduce the level of harm.<\/p>\n

\"WorkSafeWorkSafe chief executive Sharon Thompson hopes the simplified and updated Code of Practice will reduce harm within the forestry industry. Photo \/ WorkSafe<\/p>\n

WorkSafe data shows forestry had the highest fatality rate of any sector in 2024. <\/p>\n

Despite Northland having 10.5% of New Zealand\u2019s total harvest, Forest Industry Safety Council data showed it still made up 15% of new forestry-related ACC claims.<\/p>\n

Thompson said it was a \u201cshared goal\u201d within the industry to reduce harm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want everyone to come home from work healthy, happy and safe, and we all need to keep working towards that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, WorkSafe ran a total of 14 workshops across the country with stakeholders, including unions and frontline workers to help inform the new guidelines.<\/p>\n

She said inspectors would be out and about during the spring and summer seasons to help inform companies about the new guidelines. <\/p>\n

She hoped that through engagement, people would better understand the requirements and avoid enforcement action. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe would like to reduce the rate of harm across the industry, and we are one part of the system, so it\u2019s definitely something we would like to see in the long term,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

But Thompson said the responsibility for managing the risks in forestry sat squarely with the business first and foremost. <\/p>\n

Her comments come after Kohurau Contracting were ordered to pay $150,000<\/a> after a worker lost four fingers in a workplace accident.<\/p>\n

A Northland logging company was also ordered to pay more than $70,000 in costs<\/a> in 2024 for failing to ensure equipment was maintained.<\/p>\n

Forest Industry Safety Council data showed that between 2013 and 2023, 36% of fatalities were in smaller-scale forestry, such as woodlots, while 64% were in corporate forestry. <\/p>\n

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whang\u0101rei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Approved Code of Practice highlights WorkSafe\u2019s expectations for managing health and safety within the sector. This time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7501,138,66159,66158,3238,23801,11521,4729,3012,78,2454,117,111,139,69,1118,42371,19257,12068,699,6302,12975,223,17705],"class_list":["post-87372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-7501","tag-business","tag-decreasing","tag-fatality","tag-forestry","tag-guidelines","tag-harm","tag-highest","tag-hopes","tag-in","tag-industry","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-prompting","tag-rate","tag-reducing","tag-releases","tag-safety","tag-sector","tag-the","tag-worksafe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}