Photo: AFP/Pool
Almost 15 years after 29 men were killed in the explosions at Pike River mine, new research shows New Zealand's health and safety record remains poor, with workers here more likely to die than in Australia or the United Kingdom.
Research by the Public Health Communication Centre identified persistent issues - including weak enforcement, inadequate fines and poor understanding of legal duties among employers and political leaders.
Dr Christopher Peace, the lead author of the research, said while there were changes following the 2010 mining disaster, things were now sliding backwards and there had been no substantive change in the number of work related deaths in the last 15 years.
New Zealand's workplace fatality rate was now twice as bad as Australia's and four times as bad as the United Kingdom's.
"Quite honestly, for a countr
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