Waihi Walkways will encounter other people's workplaces

Workplaces create responsibilities for those who work in, or control, them.

We will look at these obligations from the point of view of Waihi Walkways , and the workplaces we walk through or near.

Section 15 of the HSE act deals with the duties of employers: Every employer shall take all practicable steps to ensure that no action or inaction of any employee while at work harms any other person. 

Section 17 of the act deals with the duties of self-employed people: Every self-employed person shall take all practicable steps to ensure that no action or inaction of the self-employed person while at work harms the self-employed person or any other person.

We will assume that farmers fall under one or both of those categories, and therefore have duties to walkers (and Walkways contractors) under the act. In simple terms, farmers must take all practicable steps to ensure that nothing they do, or don't do, harms any other person.

In addition, employees are covered by section 19.

Section 19 of the act deals with the duties of employees: Every employee shall take all practicable steps to ensure--

(b) That no action or inaction of the employee while at work causes harm to any other person.

Unless farmers, or others, are employing people to do work on our walkways (construction, maintenance, etc), their only other obligations under the HSE Act are as a person who controls a place of work. See: Control of Places of Work

The Department of Conservation have indicated that they view the lands that they administer as workplaces, year round. This has implications for Waihi Walkways wherever we traverse DoC land.

Section 16 of the act deals with the duties of persons who control places of work. Below are our interpretations.

(1) A person who controls a place of work must take all practicable steps to ensure that no hazard that is, or arises in the place, harms people in the vicinity of the place including people there solely for the purpose of recreation or leisure.

[So a farmer, for example, has a duty toward walkers in the vicinity of his farm. He must take all practicable steps to ensure no hazard harms them.]

(2) does not apply, assuming the walkers have not paid be there.

(3) Waihi Walkways" contractors who have been given express authority to be in the work place (e.g. farm), must be warned by the farmer of significant hazards. 

(4) if the walker (recreation or leisure) has not paid to be there, and has not been expressly authorised, then the controller of the place of work has no duty to them (under this section of the act).

Our understanding of section 16 is that it imposes duties on top of those of sections 15, 17 and 19. So, this would appear to add to the duties of farmers thus: farmers must take all practicable steps to ensure that nothing they do, or don't do, harms any other person, including people in the vicinity.

Waihi Walkways will work in partnership with farmers to ensure that all practicable steps are taken to protect contractors and walkers on our walkways. This may require establishing and implementing a joint hazard control plan with each farmer.

Waihi District Walkways Inc. PO Box 241 Waihi New Zealand

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