Paul Jarvie: EMA workplace safety manager on the Government reassuring landowners that they won’t be responsible for recreational activities

Brooke van Velden says she's fixing unclear laws - on landowner liability for accidents on their land.  

The Workplace Relations Minister's announced changes to health and safety laws to make it clear the responsibility lies organisers of activities. 

The landowners of Whakaari/White Island were prosecuted after the 2019 eruption.

EMA workplace safety manager Paul Jarvie says many companies were hit hard during the eruption fallout - and there's been industry concerns ever since.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More movement from the government on the health and safety sector.
Yes it is a sector and yes that is a problem.
This time they are reassuring landowners that they will no
longer be responsible for recreational activities that they permit on
their land. This all comes after Facardi White Island. You
remember the court decision which the find the landowners alongside

(00:21):
the operators. Paul Javis, the EMA Workplace Safety manager with
us Hi, Paul Hi, Hell, are you good? Thank you,
Good to have you on the show. Just starting with
the landowners. Did the Facadi decision? Was that quite a
major for scaring people off?

Speaker 2 (00:39):
I think I was because there were so many companies
that were prosecuted from the from the start said of them,
plead the guilty right up front, and several we're taken away.
But it was really the decision by the three brothers
to appeal there their condition that then the High Court

(01:01):
then said, well, it's it's while they owned the land,
they didn't actually work there. So it's all about was
work taking place there that the three owners were undertaking
and in that case it was none.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
And but despite that, what effect did it have on
you know, on on land both recreational but also for
businesses around the country.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah, well, I think because it's it's a high court
decision that that as sets the precedents. I mean, what's
been announced today kind of says the same thing that
where a farmer, for example, let someone onto the land
to do some activities recreational, go fishing, drive the cod bikes, whatever,

(01:50):
then the farmer themselves won't have any liability because they
aren't working on the on the area or or where
the cords being driven. So it really comes back to
that notion who creates the risk. In the case of
a quad bike, it's the person who's driving the quad bike.

(02:10):
The only parallel part to it is if the farmer
was working alongside where the quadlike was working, then the
farmer would have some duty them to inform the quad
bike people. I'm going to be cutting some grass down here.
There could be some plying stones. You need to be careful.
So it just clarifies those kind of boundaries, whereas in

(02:32):
the current situation there are no boundaries. And what we've
seen in the marketplace is that farmers, as an example
and others, we're taking a very risk averse approach in
that no one was allowed on the property. No clubs
were allowed on the properties because no one knew where
the boundaries were.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Do you expect this, Soul? I mean, how much of
a cost was this to business? And will you know
where we see a boost to growth from it?

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Look? I think so, because the more we can get
back onto the land and clubs can do their activities,
people can go and do their recreational things. That's going
to free up and also let the farmers be far
more comfortable that where they aren't working on that particular
day when the activities taking place, they have no responsibilities,
whereas under the previous kind of undercurrent regime they might

(03:28):
have been caught into question. So what this change will
mean is that they will be able to carry on
doing their farming. The recreational people can do what they
need to do and it be very clear and both
parties can can live quite quite comfortably knowing that they're
doing there.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
But individually, Paul, somebody's just ticked and Ryan, do I
smell common sense? Is that about summon up?

Speaker 2 (03:56):
Well, we don't use common sense and health and safety
because of problem is it's too common and there's no sensident.
But I understand, but I understand this the sentiment of it.
It is about who's got the ability to control places
and who actually creates the risk.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Paul, appreciate your time. Paul jarvi Ema, workplace s actor
manager on the government announcement. For more from Hither Duplessy
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