Hon Judith Collins
Minister for ACC
1 October 2012
Speech
Address to 11th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion
Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington
Thank you for the invitation to address you this afternoon.
It?s great to be here.
Preventing injuries is a complex task and we know the challenges associated with injury prevention are universal.
In this room, we have delegates from across the globe - from our neighbours in Australia and the Pacific, from the United States, from Europe, Japan, Malaysia, India, and Jamaica.
Welcome.
I?m delighted that the Safety 2012 Conference is being held here in Wellington.
Injuries are a serious and costly issue in New Zealand - as they are across the world.
Around 1,800 people die each year from injury here, and 8,000 receive serious, life-threatening injuries.
As you all know, the impacts of injury go beyond the individual?s pain, loss of earnings and reduced quality of life, to their families, employers, our health care system, and communities.
And each year, injuries cost New Zealand about $10.4 billion in social and economic costs.
The next few days will provide an excellent opportunity for us to share different ideas and strategies around injury prevention and safety practice being carried out around the world.
Today I would like to talk to you about New Zealand?s accident compensation scheme ACC - I will discuss how the scheme is encouraging better workplace health and safety practices and why injury prevention at work, home and play is crucial to making our country an even safer place to live and visit.
When the principal architect of New Zealand?s ACC scheme, Sir Owen Woodhouse, outlined the challenge of national injury prevention 45 years ago, he said:
"Injury arising from accident demands an attack on three fronts. The most important is obviously prevention. Next is the obligation to rehabilitate the injured. Thirdly is the duty to compensate them for their losses".
ACC provides a truly unique service and is admired around the world for its comprehensive, no-fault personal injury cover for all residents and visitors to this country.
Injuries occur everywhere, and the scheme doesn?t discriminate whether they happen at work, on the road, or at play. ACC provides cover for everyone.
It means, in New Zealand, we avoid issues of litigation for damages and all the blame, uncertainty, delay and cost that involves. It is something New Zealanders are rightfully proud of.
It ensures a co-ordinated approach to caring for injured people - taking care of the injured to help them return to active and productive lives, and maintaining a clear focus on building a culture of safety to try to prevent injuries occurring.
What we know, but what can be difficult to convey to the public, is that most injuries are preventable.
They are not inevitable accidents that just happen.
We can help avoid injuries by investing in safer systems and by encouraging individuals, businesses, families and communities to take greater responsibility to reduce the risk of injury to themselves and to others.
An important part of this is the sharing of international knowledge, lessons and best practice.
NZ Injury Prevention Outcomes Report
The New Zealand Injury Prevention Strategy aims to curb the economic and social costs of injury to our nation by identifying six key areas for prevention - workplace injuries, falls, motor vehicle traffic crashes, suicide and self-harm, assault and drowning.
These areas account for nearly 80 per cent of serious injuries and injury deaths.
We now invest $1.3 billion a year on these key areas alone.
This strategy underpins the joint Government, business, research and community effort to improve New Zealand?s injury prevention performance.
Our most recent Injury Prevention Outcomes Report showed we had some really good news stories - especially in the areas of drowning and road safety. But we?ve also still got a lot of work to do, especially around falls in the home, and suicide and self-harm.
We have bold ambitions:
In the workplace, our Safe and Skilled Workplace strategy has set a target to reduce at least 25 per cent in fatalities and serious injuries by 2020.
To help reach this target, the Government has approved a $37 million boost in workplace health and safety funding in the next four years and we?ve already seen some real improvements in areas like forestry and metal manufacturing.
To provide better financial incentives for businesses to improve workplace safety, the Government introduced experience rating on ACC workplace levies last year.
This builds on existing ACC incentive programmes that reward businesses who have good health and safety systems in place like the workplace safety management practices programme.
It aims to balance systems and processes with the outcomes of health and safety experience.
Star Rating System
Today I have announced a new Safety Star Rating system.
The new system will give employers of all sizes a rating depending on how safe their workplaces are.
Taking part will be voluntary, and the scheme will incorporate aspects of existing health and safety practices. Over time, an employer?s claim experience with ACC will also form part of their rating, as well as compliance with Occupational Safety and Health requirements.
Businesses taking part will be able to market themselves on the basis of good workplace safety, employees can have confidence that their employers act responsibly, and our workplace safety record will improve as more and more employers sign up.
This is a real opportunity for ACC to measure workplace health and safety outcomes, and will be a strong contributor to the Government?s focus on skilled and safe workplaces.
And we know we can make a difference.
Our Safer Journeys programme continues to build on a steady decline in the rate of road crash fatalities. Last year was the lowest road toll on record since the 1970s and the plan aims for a further 20 per cent drop by 2020.
The results reflect strong collaboration between the Government, the Ministry of Transport, New Zealand Police, ACC, the NZ Transport Agency and the Automobile Association.
Similarly, ACC and the New Zealand Rugby Union?s RugbySmart programme helps reduce the numbers of sports injuries occurring in our popular national game - rugby.
RugbySmart educates coaches, referees and players to make sure players are physically and technically prepared for the game before they put their bodies on the line.
Since the programme was introduced in 2001, the number of serious spinal and brain injuries has reduced from more than 10 a year to less than three a year. Even though the number of Kiwis playing rugby has increased, there's been a 15 per cent decrease in the overall number of moderate to serious injuries.
RugbySmart has been so successful, the NZ Rugby Union has made it compulsory for all referees and coaches (including our All Blacks coach!) to attend annual RugbySmart workshops. It?s now being used to help prevent injuries in the sport worldwide, including in South Africa, Italy and the United States.
The challenge ahead is how to foster a safety culture without compromising our passion for action, adventure and exploration.
This Government is working hard to tell the world that New Zealand is safe place to come and be active.
Last year we introduced new safety regulations for the adventure tourism industry to help ensure New Zealanders and overseas tourists can have fun here, and know they?re safe. They have helped ensure that injury prevention and safety remains a top priority in the industry.
Better Public Services
I?m particularly pleased, with my other hat on as Justice Minister, to see that violence is a key focus over the next few days. Violence is not just a justice issue; it is a public health issue and a community issue.
That?s why we're bringing a whole-of-government approach to violence reduction - our Better Public Services programme aims to reduce the crime rate by 15 per cent and the violent crime rate by 20 per cent by 2017.
The programme looks at how we can bring knowledge and research together at a national level, to ensure we have the right initiatives and interventions in place. We also need to involve the right people - Police, local councils, social workers, our communities, as of course ACC.
The Government cannot solve the issue of injuries alone.
Real change requires strong vision and leadership. We need to find innovative solutions to old problems. To do this we must continue to work in partnership with the public and the private sector.
Earlier this year, I launched a major ACC initiative called 'Idea Nation'.
The competition called on New Zealanders to come up with solutions to reduce the number and severity of falls in the home - more than 100,000 working age people are injured every year as a result of a fall in their home.
It was great to see New Zealanders using our famous kiwi ingenuity to take part in building our nation?s safety culture.
Over time innovative programmes such as Idea Nation, will help reduce our serious injury rates, get injured people back to work and make New Zealand a safer place for our families, communities and businesses.
ACC will now pilot the best ideas, including a ?shower gutter? to prevent water from leaking onto the bathroom floor and a ?ladder alarm? to warn users before their ladder overbalances.
Safety Week
Our national Safety Week, held in conjunction with this conference, is a great opportunity to expand the conversation around injury prevention to the wider New Zealand community.
We want people to realise that the home is a risky place, and we?re encouraging the public to challenge their behaviour in and around the home to reduce the risk of injury.
Over the next three days, you will hear from over 260 speakers on a range of injury topics from falls to road safety, alcohol and drug driving, suicide and self-harm, child safety, and making our workplaces safer.
In these same next three days, about 14,000 people in this country will be injured and need medical help. About 12 may die from those injuries.
It?s clear that there is much work to be done.
Your theme of "Connecting pathways for a vibrant and safer future" is about getting people like you talking and working together to find solutions.
I challenge you to come up with real solutions and interventions, for the benefit of safer communities around the world.
Once again thank you for the chance to speak to you this afternoon.
I wish you all the best for a successful conference.
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