98 road cone reports on hotline's first day
Photo / 123RF
WorkSafe received 98 reports on the first day of its road cone hotline.
The 12-month pilot got underway on Tuesday, as part of the government's broader overhauls to health and safety.
The workplace relations and safety minister Brooke van Velden has
shifted WorkSafe's focus from enforcement to advice
, telling the agency to work with businesses and individuals to manage risks.
Her letter of expectation told WorkSafe to establish the hotline for businesses and individuals to report excessive road cone use traffic management requirements, with follow-up inspections where necessary.
A WorkSafe spokesperson said as at 4:30pm on Tuesday, it had received 98 reports.
Van Velden said the road cone policy would be the most "front-facing" that people would see, as most people were not going onto dangerous work sites.
She said there were originally suggestions of a road cone phone line, but she went against it and suggested a digital system as it would need fewer resources and staffing.
"I want people when they're out on the streets, taking their kids to school or heading to work, to know that if they see a roadcone... it's there for harm. Whereas at the moment, there are so many road cones that people are ignoring them."
Transport minister Chris Bishop said the use of road cones was regulated in various ways, but NZTA had a role to play.
"NZTA is not responsible for all the roads around the country. They're responsible for State Highways, but often people have road cone issues on local roads, which are the responsibility of the contractor, who's ultimately responsible to the local council, who sets the rules around that," he said.
"There's temporary traffic management in place around particular events, which has been and can be quite overzealous."
Bishop said there would continue to be cones on the road, as the government had made significant investments in road maintenance.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins was not in favour of the hotline.
"It's a total waste of time. Ultimately, WorkSafe should be focused on keeping people alive at work, making sure that all of our workplaces are safe, not worrying about road cones."
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