Workplace death and injuries are costing the economy $4.4 billion a year, a new report estimates. 

The inaugural State of a Thriving Nation report by the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum shows, on average, 73 people are killed in work accidents each year. 

That is equal to the United Kingdom’s fatality rate from the 1980s and is double the current rate in Australia, which also has a serious-injury rate 20 per cent lower than New Zealand. 

Economist and report author Shamubeel Eaqub said if New Zealand matched those figures, nearly $1 billion could be saved annually. 

Shamubeel Eaqub. Photo / Andrew Warner, File 

Although the report stated fatality rates can be affected by large one-off events like the Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption, New Zealand’s high fatality rates are replicated across many industries, suggesting systemic issues that need to be addressed. 

The report said the incoming government needed to prioritise health and safety, for the benefit of the economy and people’s lives. 

It said a new government should focus on the Health and Safety at Work Strategy 2018-28 which has not yet published a work plan, first planned for delivery in 2019, nor established any form of system oversight or governance. 

It also pointed out the number of WorkSafe inspectors had fallen from 8.4 per 100,000 workers in 2013, (the stated WorkSafe NZ target), to 6.3 in 2023.