The federation and WorkSafe had created much goodwill ahead of the April 4 law change but that would be undone if inspectors started taking enforcement action against those who transgressed.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse said he expected inspectors to take an educate-and-engagement approach but if a breach was noted during a farm visit farmers would be required to fix it.
Woodhouse was not pulling any punches when he said that while death and injury rates had fallen in other work sectors they remained high on farms and he expected those numbers to decline.
Workplace death and injury rates had fallen in the forestry, construction and manufacturing sectors but figures from farming had hardly moved with about half all workplace deaths and a fifth of all claims to the Accident Compensation Corporation occurring on farms.
Woodhouse said farming needed to do its bit to achieve the Government’s goal of a 25% overall reduction by 2020.
Milne said while injury and death rates had to fall, the very nature of farming and dealing with unpredictable animals meant statistics from the sector would always be high.
She said awareness, a culture change and technology would help as would information about trends and the time of day when accidents usually occurred.
ACC data showed accidents were more likely to happen in the late morning and late afternoon when hunger and fatigue were factors.
The Government has been criticised by opposition political parties and unions for being too soft on farmers, in part for not requiring farm employees to elect a health and safety representative.
Most farms employed fewer than two people and in most cases farm employers worked alongside their staff.
Woodhouse said WorkSafe had responded to farmer feedback that inspectors should not arrive on farms unannounced and that they should educate rather than immediately start issuing infringement notices.
“It is not a gotcha sort of approach towards health and safety.
“We are continuing a conversation about health and safety and farmers are part of it but it is something they should not fear,” he said in an interview.
Milne said farmers had noted and welcomed that co-operative approach from inspectors and had found their advice valuable, especially on farms where familiarity could make risks less obvious.
“If you have been working with a piece of machinery in a shed forever, something that was normalised for you may not be for others.”
Woodhouse had noticed a change in farmer attitude towards health and safety from outright cynicism 15 months ago to something more positive but there was still an underlying fear inspectors would issue fines for any transgression.
Of the 10,000 serious harm notifications lodged each year WorkSafe took only about 100 prosecutions.
He described a school board of trustees banning children from climbing trees as unusual, adding that of 2300 school boards only one had that interpretation of the legislation.
Woodhouse said not only was it lawful for children to climb trees, it should be encouraged but it required a similar approach to health and safety as many farming activities, such as riding quad bikes.
Both cases meant checking for and managing all reasonable risks.
