Federated Farmers: Farming sector failing to tackle quad bike safety
Federated Farmers says the farming sector has been unable to effectively address quad bike safety.
Not many weeks pass when quad crashes don’t make the news here or in Australia; for example, the first weekend in March saw two fatalities and a serious injury in NSW.
In a move to limit these, Queensland last week made helmets compulsory; and in Victoria and NSW rebate incentives are offered to encourage farmers to fit roll-over protection devices.
Farmsafe AU spokeswoman Sarah McKinnon says a big change is needed in quad use ‘culture’ to raise safety, and she suggests manufacturers find ways to design for greater safety.
In response, the Australian quad industry is urging state and regional governments to immediately ban riders younger than 16 from operating adult-size machines.
The Federal Chamber of Automobile Industries (FCAI) also wants state governments to mandate continuous adult supervision of riders under 16 when they are operating “age-appropriate” quads.
The industry insists that full-size quads were never designed to be ridden by children, yet they keep doing it despite warning notices on machines and freely available safety and training materials.
In New Zealand, the Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford reiterates the long-held industry viewpoint that only vehicles that comply with the ANSI standards on power and speed for age-related quads or side-by-side machines should be sold in NZ.
The MIA is also urging the government to prohibit the importing of machines that do not meet this standard. And it urges parents to prohibit children younger than six from riding any size quads or side-by-sides, and youngsters under 16 from riding adult-size machines.
An independent report, prepared for Alliance farmer shareholders is backing the proposed $250 million joint venture investment by Irish company Dawn Meats Group.
Whangarei field service technician, Bryce Dickson has cemented his place in John Deere’s history, becoming the first ever person to win an award for the third time at the annual Australian and New Zealand Technician of the Year Awards, announced at a gala dinner in Brisbane last night.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
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