About 40 people attended a public meeting in Dunedin last night to discuss existing system failures and how workplace health and safety could be better managed.
Members of a government-appointed independent task force, including chairman Rob Jager, hosted the meeting.
Mr Jager said that each year in New Zealand, about 100 people died from workplace accidents, a further 700 to 1000 people died from work-related diseases and about 190,000 people made a claim to the Accident Compensation Corporation after being harmed at work.
It cost the country an estimated $3.5 billion annually, although some believed the true cost was significantly higher.
"It's unacceptable, unsustainable and something we need to change. Pike River was the catalyst for making the Government stand up and call for a review," Mr Jager said.
Workplace health and safety regulations had not been reviewed for more than 20 years, despite significant industry changes, he said.
Public input was crucial if changes were to be relevant.
Task force members would use written public submissions and feedback from meetings to develop recommendations for the Government to consider at the end of April next year.
Mr Jager said it was up to the Government to decide whether recommendations were implemented, but the overall improvement of workplace health and safety was supported by most, if not all, political parties.
"So it shouldn't matter who's in government, in terms of long-term changes," he said.
The Government wanted a 25% reduction in workplace accidents by 2020, which would be a step in the right direction but nowhere near good enough, Mr Jager said.
"If we achieved that, we would still be worse than Australia and definitely the UK.
"There would still be about 75 deaths each year, and that's not something to be happy about."
The task force will hold further meetings in Christchurch and Invercargill within the next month, and about 20 nationwide.
