The Health and Safety Association of New Zealand (HASANZ) is holding its first conference from September 7-9 at Te Papa in Wellington.
The conference will be of great value for everyone with a direct interest in workplace health and safety, including business owners and safety managers in the construction industry.
The conference is well timed — six months after the arrival of the Health and Safety at Work Act — so there has never been a more important time to keep up to date with the latest health and safety developments.
“We want everyone to leave the conference with a new awareness that the approach to health and safety in New Zealand is now different,” HASANZ chair Craig Smith says.
Programme deliberately provocative
“Attendees will be better informed and more confident about working in this new regime,” he says.
The programme is deliberately provocative, inspiring people to see health and safety in a new light.
Keynote speakers include:
• Dr Vincent Covello: Founder and director of the Centre for Risk Communication in New York City, a world authority on risk and change management communication.
• Professor Drew Dawson: Director of the Appleton Institute in Adelaide, and an international expert on managing workplace fatigue, will cover defining the line between personal and employer responsibilities.
• Peter Biggs: Assignment Group chief executive and one of Australasia’s leading marketing practitioners, will talk about “buying the why” as the key to transforming health and safety practice in the workplace.
• Gordon MacDonald: WorkSafe New Zealand chief executive looks at the journey from compliance to organisational culture change where “doing it right” is second nature.
• Rebecca Macfie: Award-winning Listener journalist and the author of the definitive book on the Pike River tragedy, highlights how Pike is best viewed not as an extraordinary failure, but an ordinary one that all businesses can learn from.
• David Tregoweth: Melbourne Water general manager health and safety, will challenge workplace health and safety advisors to be more business savvy, and focus on the commercial value of health and safety to businesses, not just regulatory compliance.
High quality presentations
In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in master classes with Dr Covello and Professor Dawson, and choose from more than 25 other high quality presentations inspiring new professionals, new practices and new possibilities.
There will also be an open session on worker engagement and participation facilitated by Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum executive director Francois Barton.
A Business Leaders panel will discuss what company executives really want from their health and safety advisors — hear from Z Energy general manager health, safety, security and environment Julian Hughes (facilitator), Holcim NZ country manager Glenda Harvey, Business Leaders’ Health & Safety Forum chair and professional director George Adams, and Chep chief executive Mike O’Brien.
A conference highlight will be a Parliamentary reception hosted by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, the Hon Michael Woodhouse, in the Beehive Banquet Hall.
It will be a great event to take away new ideas and practical knowledge, and to build your professional networks.
See the full programme and register at the HASANZ Conference 2016 web site at www.hasanz.org.nz/page/conference.
