Tauranga's Council Receives Thumbs Up From ACC At Napier Conference

Tauranga City Council's leadership in ensuring the safety of its workforce and the wider community has been highly praised by ACC's CEO.

Dr Jan White was the keynote speaker at the annual Local Government Health and Safety Conference in Napier, September 16, 17 and 18.

In the 2006/2007 year ACC looked after more than 1.8 million claims from people injured in New Zealand, with just over 54,000 of those from Tauranga.

Dr White told the conference that councils have a huge part to play in keeping New Zealanders safe as they work and play. That can also be economically beneficial because people - including tourists - are attracted to safe places like Tauranga.

ACC has established relationships with 40 councils, of which 24 have signed agreements with ACC and have planned health and safety activities in place.

She said the best way to improve safety and injury figures is to "share the goal" with other organisations like ACC, government, industry, the education sector, community groups, and iwi.

Tauranga City Council, she said, is a great example of this partnership.

"The Tauranga City Council, ACC and other strategic partners have collaborated under a signed action plan to integrate safety, not only within the Council environment, but also out into the community," Dr White said.

She noted the council's driver fatigue presentations to staff, contractors and families, and the child restraint checks for all staff, as well other ACC programmes such as Discomfort, Pain and Injury, and the Workplace Safety Management Programme.

Dr White also praised the council for its community safety work, including supporting Tauranga's Safe City Co-ordinator, a community coalition on alcohol, the Travel Safe Project, and the Summer Safety Campaign.

ACC account manager Peter Musk said that ACC's relationship with Tauranga City Council has grown enormously, particularly over the past two years. He said that now ACC is involved in many injury prevention projects initiated or supported by the council; and vice versa, with the council picking up on ACC's safety programmes.

"The City On Its Feet programme was fantastic, and linked in brilliantly with ACC's aim to keep New Zealanders - especially the elderly - active to lessen the chances of slips, trips and falls," Peter Musk said.

"ACC has had a lot of input into Tauranga's bid to achieve a World Health Organisation Safe Community accreditation. It's great that Tauranga Council sees such a lot of social and economic benefit in making safety a top priority," he said.

ENDS

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