Calls for farm vehicle safety tales
Industry-led farm safety organisation, Safer Farms is urging farmers to share their first-hand experiences with reducing harm on farms.
ACC will invest $22 million into workplace injury prevention grants and subsidies.
ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says this will help make it easier for Kiwi businesses to keep their workplaces healthy and safe.
The $22 million over five years will go into an incentive programme to help businesses reduce workplace injury.
“The subsidies are designed to support small and medium-sized businesses to invest in training, equipment or advisory services that will have a direct impact on the health and safety of workplaces,” he says.
"This is particularly important for smaller businesses which haven't previously been able to access this type of support because the barriers have been too high.
“The Government is determined to ensure that all New Zealanders can return home to their friends and whanau in the same health as when they began their day at work.”
In 2017 ACC claims for work related injuries totalled 231,651. Five sectors currently represent over half (52%) of all severe workplace injuries, namely agriculture, construction, forestry, manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance.
Compared to international standards, New Zealand has a higher rate of injuries and fatalities in the workplace.
The programme will include two types of assistance:
o Workplace injury prevention grants: These grants provide funding for organisations to help solve workplace health and safety problems that affect multiple businesses in an industry or supply chain.
o Workplace injury prevention subsidies: Injury prevention subsidies are available to help small to medium businesses access services and other supports that are known to improve workplace health and safety.
Lees-Galloway says the Government is serious about improving health and safety in Kiwi workplaces.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.
AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for farmers, is pouring $5 million in a biotech company to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains.
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Te Awamutu dairy farmers Doug, Penny, Josh and Bayley Storey have planted more than 25,000 native trees on the family farm, adding to a generations-old native forest.
OPINION: The Government's recent announcement that methane targets will be reviewed is bringing relief to farmers.