WS Must Improve seeks to show how the regulator is failing to perform its statutory roles competently, principally in relation to the hazardous substances’ compliance regime.  It is a call to action for those in governance roles to ensure that the regulator acts in the best interests of worker safety. 

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The examples will highlight the practical perils of the Minister’s ambition for WorkSafe.  If, as we shall show, WorkSafe lacks the skills to administer the rules, how can we expect that it will be turned into a fleet of nimble advisers?  Doesn’t advice need to be grounded in expertise to avoid creating chaos and harm?

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It is workers for whom the HSWA regime was designed.  It is not enough for workers to go home without suffering a serious accident.  They must not be exposed to unhealthy work environments that lead to disease and painful, slow deaths long after the boss has pocketed his profits. It is not enough for WorkSafe to follow the ambulance speeding towards hurt and harm.  Its “boots on the ground” must be filled with trained, productive people administering the rules that are designed to prevent harm – healthcare not deathcare.

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Good law is being poorly administered by a regulator that has squandered its first decade.