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Federated Farmers health and safety spokesperson Katie Milne
The Parliamentary Select Committee’s delay on the Health and Safety Reform Bill has led to improvements for the farming industry, say the Federated Farmers.
Feds health and safety spokesperson Katie Milne says the Bill overall will make farms safer places.
Specifically she says the Bill has gone some way to recognising that farms are different to urban industrial workplaces.
“Farms are not construction sites but with lots of grass and animals. They are also where people live and use for recreation. We are pleased the Government has signalled a Supplementary Order Paper to acknowledge this. It will make clear that a farmer’s home is not a workplace. Ideally, it should include other farm accommodation as well.”
“We also didn’t want to have a risk imposed on us for people who come onto our properties without our knowledge and have an accident. They parliamentarians have listened to us and the Bill puts the responsibility on recreational users back to those people, where it should be,” Milne says.
Federated Farmers will be studying the Bill for the fine print, but Milne says she has already identified ambiguity and problems with responsibilities and liabilities for a Person Controlling a Business or Undertaking (PCBU).
“The Bill still hasn’t sorted the overlaps of more than one PCBU on a farm, where for instance, a farmer and a contractor are both working,” she says.
Central Otago District Council (CODC) has voted against a plan to spread treated sewage sludge from Cromwell and Alexandra on farmland near Lauder, a decision Federated Farmers says reflects strong opposition from rural residents.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Federated Farmers says new legislation replacing the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow New Zealand's export-led economy, after the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.
Leading figures from the major political parties will be questioned on their primary sector policies at the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, on 30 September.
Will the good times last? That's one of the key issues to come out of the latest Federated Farmers confidence survey.
Waikato milk processor Tatua has again declared a record milk payout to farmer shareholders, leaving other processors in the dust.
A Labour-led Government won’t be bringing back the controversial freshwater rules of 2020.
National’s much-touted free trade deal with India featured in the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek, Hamilton on Wednesday night.
New Zealand's 2026-27 freshwater fishing season has opened, with anglers encouraged to head to rivers and lakes over the coming days as conditions look favourable across much of the country.
Central Otago District Council (CODC) has voted against a plan to spread treated sewage sludge from Cromwell and Alexandra on farmland near Lauder, a decision Federated Farmers says reflects strong opposition from rural residents.
Pāmu has released its FY26 Integrated Annual Report, reporting a Net Operating Profit of $113 million, more than double the $49 million recorded in FY25.
