Massey Birdwood Settlers Association

This article is good information for residents and ratepayers and commercial property owners alike

Asbestos – Health and safety risk

Asbestos is the name for a group of natural mineral minerals that are made up of many small fibres. It has in the past been a common building material used in many homes and buildings built prior to 2000. It is a material that was in favour in the building industry because it was a natural fire retardant and water resistant.

However, it is also very hazardous to your health especially when you breathe in the fibre particles over a long period of time.

If left undisturbed asbestos is not harmful, however the asbestos is often disturbed when your doing renovations or repair work around the home or commercial premises. As exposure can be harmful if not cause cancer leading to death over time the Government has introduced regulations to protect the health and safety of workers around their exposure to asbestos. Known as the Health and Safety at Work Asbestos (regulations) 2016, the regulations spell out how to manage asbestos.

In the workplace companies are required to identify and manage asbestos if it is present in your workplace. As a PCBU you must ensure that your workplace environment is free of airborne asbestos fibres.  Construction companies, plumbers, electricians, builders all run the risk of being exposed to asbestos containing materials and therefore a PCBU should ensure that staff are aware or able to identify asbestos. If found asbestos should be removed by licenced asbestos removers.

Home owners should take steps to check whether or not their home contains asbestos and advise tradespeople working on the property of the possibility. If doing the job themselves they should look at having the asbestos removed.

For further information check out https://worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-industry/asbestos/working-with-asbestos/handy-hints/locations-of-asbestos-in-commercial-buildings/ you can also check out https://worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-industry/asbestos/working-with-asbestos/handy-hints/locations-of-asbestos-in-a-residential-dwelling/.

by John Riddell, H&S Consultant, Securo, https://www.securo.co.nz

The Massey Birdwood Settlers Association while owning a community hall, is primarily an incorporated society established in April 1925 as a resident and ratepayers group, the primary function being to represent the views of residents and ratepayers to Council and Government and ensure adequate resources are being spent in the area by the governing bodies for the benefit of the whole community.

The hall itself was built in 1956 on the corner of Don Buck and Red Hills Roads on Conservation Department land known as the Massey Birdwood Domain. In 1954 the then Government gazetted a notice providing the Association with the rights to own and manage a community hall on the Domain.

It is always fitting to remind people at this time of the year that Massey is the name of the Prime Minister, William Massey, who served at the time of the first World War and Birdwood is the surname of the man who led the NZ troops off Gallipoli.

The mural on the side of the hall depicts Don Buck (real name Randoff Sanfrisco Figero) who worked with newly released prisoners in the area, trading gum for profit. The mural also shows the environmental views that Massey takes in of the Waitakere Ranges and the trees that line the horizon and the Tui which is a native bird that lives in the trees. The leaves on the trees by the way are hand prints by some of the children who attended Massey Primary at the time mural was painted.

The following article appeared in The Westerly magazine November 2017  edition, and is written by our Secretary John Riddell who is a Health and Safety Consultant. The article has particular relevance for residents and ratepayers so we thought it should appear on the pages of resident and ratepayers website. The Westerly is a great local publication that covers Massey, West Harbour and Hobsonville areas and published monthly.

In addressing the increasing number of serious work-related injuries and deaths in New Zealand, landlords are now responsible for ensuring health and safety at rental properties. “Landlords will be regarded as PCBUs ( a PCBU – Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) and have a responsibility to ensure health and safety of workers they engage or who are influenced or directed by the PCBU while they are doing work for that PCBU ‘so far as is reasonably practicable… [at the end of the day, it is] about what the Landlord can reasonably do to manage health and safety.” PCBUs must also maintain any worker accommodation that is owned or managed by the PCBU, must be maintained so the worker is not exposed to health and safety risks. A case scenario from Worksafe: To give more clarity on the HSWA, Worksafe has provided a landlord case scenario: “For example, if a landlord engages a plumbing firm to do repairs on a rental property, they have control over the engaging of that company. So they could set healthy and safety standards they expect of the company they hire (e.g. they have to be a member of a professional body, they have to be qualified for the job they have to have previous experience of doing this wok etc). But once the plumbing company is on site the landlord will have little influence or control over their day to day work (unless there is some hazard on the property the plumber should know about). The risks created by the plumbing company on the job are up to them to manage.” John Riddell, H&S Consultant Securo – Phone 027 477 9750 or Email [email protected]. Website https://www.securo.co.nz/

From the Auckland Council Website

Auckland, it’s time to celebrate! The festive season is finally here.

But remember, because of the public holidays, your rubbish and/or recycling collections will be one day later for two weeks from Monday 25 December. Normal collections resume Monday 8 January.