MinEx welcomes new WorkSafe CEO
MinEx, the Mining Extractives Health and Safety Council has welcomed the appointment of senior Fonterra executive Nicole Rosie as the next CEO of WorkSafe New Zealand.
Chris Baker, Executive chair of MinEx acknowledged the work of departing CEO Gordon MacDonald who is returning to Britain.
“Gordon has done a good job in getting WorkSafe up and running. He can be proud of the contribution he has made to health and safety improvements in New Zealand.” “It is also good to see his replacement in the WorkSafe leadership role is someone who also comes with a strong health and safety background as well diverse corporate experience.”
Nicole Rosie was Fonterra’s Director for Health and Safety before other projects. She has previously had direct health and safety experience at KiwiRail and Fletcher Challenge Forests.
“WorkSafe is still a relatively new agency and it faces a major challenge to deliver on all that’s demanded to lift health and safety performance in our industries and others,” said Chris Baker.
One early challenge for Nicole Rosie was ensuring there were appropriate resources for WorkSafe to be able to perform its functions. “WorkSafe is currently significantly under-resourced in some areas. For example there are currently only a handful of inspectors dedicated to quarry health and safety.
WorkSafe itself estimates there are 1,000 quarries and mines around New Zealand without the required registered managers. That poses a big risk to health and safety.”
Aggregate and Quarry Association chair and MinEx board member Brian Roche said AQA was already in discussions with WorkSafe about a proposed review of current regulations.
“At present, quarries fall under some of the mining regulations but our industry really requires its own set of fit for purpose regulations to best ensure the health and safety of our workers.’’
“Despite past indications from WorkSafe, we understand there is currently a question-mark about whether specific quarrying regulations will now be drafted. We’d like to put this on the radar of the new CEO and work with her on getting good workable regulations that dovetail into the Good Practice Guidelines that WorkSafe, to its credit, has already delivered for quarries and alluvial mines.”
Contacts: Chris Baker 027 240 6754 Brian Roche 021 900 575