WorkSafe New Zealand Board appointed

Labour Minister Simon Bridges today announced the permanent Board of the new workplace health and safety regulator, WorkSafe New Zealand.

All members appointed to the Establishment Board in July will transfer to the permanent Board when WorkSafe starts operations on 16 December, that is: Professor Gregor Coster as chair, Paula Rose, Don Stock, Patrick Strange and Ross Wilson.

They will be joined by two new members: Kerry Prendergast, chair of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and former Mayor of Wellington; and Chris Ellis, former chief executive of Brightwater Group and inaugural chairman of the NZ Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum.

"The Board has a critical role in getting WorkSafe up to speed quickly and effectively.  WorkSafe will be the lead player in transforming New Zealand’s workplace health and safety performance, and reducing our high death and serious injury rates,” says Mr Bridges. 

“The Board members bring to the table strong governance expertise, commercial capability, a commitment to worker perspectives in workplace health and safety, as well as other regulator or key partner perspectives. 

“Professor Coster has been appointed simultaneously to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) Board.  Professor Coster’s ACC role and Ms Prendergast’s EPA role will ensure that WorkSafe successfully aligns across areas of common interest such as injury prevention and hazardous substances management.” 

Professor Coster, a former GP and Professor of General Practice at Auckland University, has spent 14 years on Crown agency boards. He will step down from chairing the Counties Manukau District Health Board in early December to take up the WorkSafe and ACC roles. 

Kerry Prendergast gained substantial governance experience as Wellington Mayor from 2001 to 2010 and as a borough and city councillor for 15 years before that.  As Mayor she was involved in significant periods of change and growth at the Wellington City Council.  She is also chair of the New Zealand Tourism Board. 

Chris Ellis trained as an engineer and has a long track record in the Australasian building products and construction industries. He held general management and executive roles in Fletcher Building before his CEO role at Brightwater Group. 

Paula Rose was deputy chair of the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety and National Manager for Road Policing. Don Stock is an experienced business executive and board director. Patrick Strange is the chief executive of Transpower and former chief executive of Mercury Energy and Vector New Zealand. Ross Wilson is a former president of the Council of Trade Unions and a lawyer specialising in employment and workplace health and safety law. 

On establishment, WorkSafe will take over the staff and functions of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Health and Safety group which includes responsibility for energy safety. The Board will announce the appointment of the permanent WorkSafe chief executive shortly.