- Hon Matt Doocey
- Hon Brooke van Velden
Today marks a significant milestone for the port and maritime sector, with the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon Brooke van Velden, and the Associate Minister of Transport celebrating the Approved Code of Practice for Loading and Unloading Cargo at Ports and on Ships (ACOP) coming into effect.
“The ACOP was one of the key actions recommended by the Port Health and Safety Leadership Group to address inconsistency of practice in the sector and to provide base level safety standards and now for the first time, all commercial ports in New Zealand now have an approved code of practice to follow,” says Mr Doocey.
“The Government wants to ensure that people come home from working on ports healthy and safe, every day, without unnecessary regulations that don’t actually enhance workplace safety. I applaud the port and maritime sector for developing an ACOP to make things safer by developing standards with the people who apply them on the ground,” says Ms van Velden.
“I know many businesses and workers want to improve and comply with the health and safety regulations but lack consistency and guidance. I am pleased the sector has developed a solution with industry, experts, workers and businesses, using their views and expertise.
“It’s truly a product that reflects real life operational scenarios and good practices within the sector. I am proud, alongside Minister Doocey to have given it formal status under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
“I want to acknowledge and thank the large number of people across the port sector who have been involved in the planning, workshops, drafting, reviewing, submissions, and creating the final document,” says Ms van Velden.
“The ACOP is an exciting development for the port sector,” says Mr Doocey.
“It gives assurance and clarity for businesses and workers on what controls they need to put in place and reduces the costs and time involved in working out how to comply. It will also help the sector have transparency on what Maritime NZ will be looking for when out on ports.
“However, most importantly, it will reduce harm and fatalities on ports by setting consistent safety practices, ensuring workers have the right tools and environment to work safely, and clarifying risk management expectations across the port sector.
“The Port Health and Safety Leadership Group, and all those who worked with it, should be proud of what they have achieved for their sector, for safety and for our country – safe, well-run ports are crucial to New Zealand’s imports and exports.”
Note to Editors:
- In 2022 the Leadership Group published its Insights Picture and Action Plan after fatal accidents at ports earlier in the year.
- It found most injuries and fatalities occur during loading and unloading of ships and also identified there were no clear or consistent safety standards around the activities involved. This has led to significant variation and wide variability of work practices and safety procedures from port to port and even on the same port.
- In response, the Leadership Group made development of the ACOP a priority to address this inconsistency and to provide base level safety standards.
