The Crane Association of New Zealand has issued the formal notice of it's AGM, taking place at its annual conference in July. Click below to read the full notice.

As part of our ongoing advocacy for cranes on kiwi roads, CANZ recently engaged TSL to write a submission on the proposed RSRA rule amendment, by NZTA.

It is vital to us that cranes are considered alongside other road users, given the fundamental difference between ourselves and general heavy vehicles. TSL used their considerable expertise to identify areas where this needed addressing in the proposed rule amendment, and has submitted on this, including proposed solutions, to NZTA.

Read the CANZ Submission HERE and review the Proposed RSRA Rule Amendment in the discussion document from NZTA HERE.

Click HERE to read our newsletter for April.

Click HERE to read our monthly newsletter for February.

Wellington, New Zealand – November 11, 2024 

The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) and The Crane Association of New Zealand are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a stronger partnership, aimed at fostering collaboration, mutual support, and the sharing of resources and expertise to benefit their respective members and industries.

The MoU, signed by Sarah Toase, CEO of The Crane Association of New Zealand and Justin Boehm, Regional Manager – ANZ for LEEA, outlines the objectives and scope of the partnership, which include promoting knowledge sharing and best practices, enhancing member value, and collaborating on joint events, workshops, technical documents, and training programs.

Key Objectives of the Partnership:

·       Promote knowledge sharing and best practices between the Parties.
·       Enhance the value provided to the members of both organisations.
·       Collaborate on joint events, workshops, technical documents, technical queries, and training programs.
·       Support advocacy and policy initiatives that benefit the industries represented by the Parties.
·       Facilitate networking opportunities for members of both organisations.

Scope of Collaboration: The partnership will involve organising and promoting joint conferences, seminars, and workshops, sharing research and publications, coordinating advocacy efforts on common issues and facilitating networking opportunities through joint events. Additionally, both organisations are committed to supporting the promotion of GLAD (Global Lifting Awareness Day) annually.

Quotes: "We are excited to formalise our partnership with The Crane Association of New Zealand. This MoU represents a significant step forward in our efforts to enhance collaboration and support within the lifting equipment and crane industries," said Justin Boehm, Regional Manager – ANZ for LEEA.

Sarah Toase, CEO of The Crane Association of New Zealand, added, "This partnership will enable us to leverage the strengths and expertise of both organisations to better serve our members and advance our shared goals. We look forward to working closely with LEEA to achieve these objectives."

About LEEA: The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) is a globally recognised trade association for all those involved in the lifting industry worldwide. LEEA represents members interests in both Australia and New Zealand and is dedicated to promoting safety, standards, and best practices in the lifting industry.

About The Crane Association of New Zealand: The Crane Association of New Zealand is the national body representing the crane industry in New Zealand. The association advocates for the interests of its members and promotes safety, training, and best practices within the industry.

For more information, please contact:

·       Justin Boehm Regional Manager – ANZ, LEEA Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 (0) 400 001 000

·       Sarah Toase CEO, The Crane Association of New Zealand Email: [email protected] Phone: +64 (0) 27 680 0009

Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Association’s Rules that a Special General Meeting of the Crane Association of New Zealand (Inc) has been called by the Council.

The purpose of this meeting is for members to vote on the required rule changes, necessary to formally implement the new membership categories discussed at the 2024 Annual General Meeting. Contact Sarah Toase for the meeting pack and agenda: [email protected] 

The meeting will take place at:
3:30pm on Thursday 28th November 2024

This will be an online meeting and members must register to attend, by clicking below.
REGISTER HERE

CANZ requires 10% of its full members to attend, to achieve the necessary quorum, so please endeavour to attend this online meeting, or assign a proxy to attend for you.

Announcement from INZ: Open work rights for partners of work visa holders

Hot off the press - Immigration New Zealand has just announced that they will be granting open work rights to partners of Work Visa holders. This is great news for employers.

Partners of workers are essential to New Zealand's workforce stability. They help fill critical roles in sectors like healthcare and education, which face skills shortages, while also supporting balanced immigration by enabling families to settle and thrive together in New Zealand.

Under current policy, many partners of workers have restrictions requiring them to only work for an Accredited Employer, earning at least the median wage ($29.66) or the relevant immigration wage threshold for the role.

As alluded last week by Hon Erica Stanford, the Minister for Immigration, the government has recognised that the current policy not only places restrictions on employers looking to access skilled workers but has also caused distress for families.

Below is a summary of the latest announcement and what the changes mean. Get in touch anytime if your team needs clarification.

Understanding the latest announcement

What is changing?

From 2 December 2024, changes in policy will mean the following Work Visa holders will be able to support their partners in applying for Partner of Worker Work Visas with open work rights: -

• AEWV holders working in an ANZSCO Level 1-3 role and paid at least $25.29 an hour.
• All AEWV holders earning at least $25.29 an hour if they were already supporting a partner for a work visa on 26 June 2024.
• AEWV holders working in an ANZSCO Level 4-5 role on the Green List or covered by the Transport or Care Workforce Sector Agreements, and earning at least the wage thresholds for residence.
• AEWV holders working in an ANZSCO Level 4-5 role and paid at least 1.5 times the median wage
• Essential Skills Work Visa holders earning at least $25.29 an hour.

What are Open Work Visa conditions? 

Open Work Visa conditions on a Partner Work Visa mean the visas will not have restrictions to only work for an accredited employer and be earning within an immigration pay threshold. They may work for any employer, without a specific immigration wage threshold.

Where to from here for employers?

This is a huge opportunity to get access to overseas talent or those already on shore who will soon become available to employ without wage restrictions.  

If you currently employ a partner of a Work Visa holder, we can check their eligibility and help you apply to INZ to have their conditions removed.

How do you obtain an Open Work Visa?

This is not an automatic grant and we recommend you seek assistance and have us check if workers qualify first in order to save money and get the best outcome.

We can start preparing now to apply for a variation of conditions so you can make the most of this change.

Get in touch with us to talk through your options.

www.workingin-newzealand.com

You may be aware that the Government have announced their intention to change the vocational education system in New Zealand. The government’s view is that the system implemented after the RoVE project has not worked.

This includes the disestablishment of Te Pukenga and broader considerations such as the fate of the Workforce Development Councils.

As the next step in these plans, the Minister for Tertiary Education has just released a public consultation document which asks for feedback on what the system will look like. They have provided options for review and feedback.

Read the full consultation document HERE.

Add your voice to the WDC submission.

Waihanga Ara Rau making it easy for you to have your say in the future structure of the vocational education system.

You will have seen that the Government have started consulting on substantial structural changes to the Vocational Education and Training system.

This proposal has major implications for the future of your workforce, how people train, and attracting people into our sector. This will have long term consequences for our sector.  This is a crucial opportunity for you and others in construction and infrastructure to heavily influence workplace training and career progression in construction and infrastructure for years to come.

The WDC aim to make it easy for you to tell the Government what you think and choose an option that’s best for you and your industry.They will achieve this by:

• Working with you and others across the construction and infrastructure industry to help develop a joint submission so we can present a united front with the Government.  
• They also encourage individual responses from organisations and employers and will support you with information and resources to help you do this.

​
Join the webinars
The WDC will be hosting short informational webinars to provide more information about the proposals, our initial take on the options and next steps. They encourage you and your teams to book onto these. More details are available here. Keep checking this page for details and resources as they update this page.  

CANZ Submission

CANZ is a vocal industry advocate when it comes to the issues that affects its members.

We are working through the consultation document and will certainly be making a submission on behalf of the industry.

It is our view that vocational learning has not been well managed in quite some time and we will strongly push for a system that supports accessible, affordable, high quality training for the kiwi crane industry.

Want to include your thoughts in our submission? Email Sarah Toase or give her a call to discuss your thoughts.

News release - 12 June 2023
 
Construction industry groups frustrated by government delays:  Wood’s office offers no explanation

Construction industry bosses are becoming increasingly frustrated over government delays in finalising health and safety regulations covering staff who work in their sectors.
 
The complaints centre around the Plant, Structures and Hazardous Work regulations, part of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
 
Scaffolding Access and Rigging Association, chief executive officer, Tina Wieczorek, says the existing regulations are years out of date.
 
This creates significant risks to anyone working in the crane, scaffolding, roofing and elevated work platform sectors, as well as many others.
 
She says the new regulations, designed to reduce work-related harm, were first drafted in mid-2019 but still haven’t been finalised.
 
Nor can government say with certainty when they will be gazetted, she says.
 
“Meanwhile we have thousands of construction staff in cranes, up scaffolding, on roofs and and using elevating work platforms every day, all working in potentially risky environments and who deserve the most up to date regulations to ensure their safety.
 
“Government doesn’t seem in a rush to get the new safety regs in place.”
 
Wieczorek’s concerns are backed by the Roofing Association, Hire Industry Association, Cranes Association, Forklift Industry Association and the Elevating Work Platform Association.
 
They all agree the new regulations need to be consulted on urgently and gazetted as soon as possible to avoid any further undue risk to workers.
 
“But we’ve been told nothing’s likely to happen until at least March next year,” Wieczorek said.
 
“Let’s hope, for everyone’s sake, we don’t have an accident in the meantime that the new regs would have prevented.”
 
None of the associations knows why the proposed regulations have been delayed for so long, despite repeated requests for that information.
 
“Even our OIA requests to transport minister Michael Wood’s office haven’t shed any light on that,” Wieczorek says.
 
They say industry is largely in agreement about how the new regulations should be designed, so there’s not much of a sticking point there.
 
Once gazetted, the new regulations will update the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to ensure it is better aligned with current industry practice.
 
“It might seem odd for an industry group to call for regulations to be introduced quickly, but we are concerned for the safety of our staff,” Wieczorek said.
 
“Government needs to act on this, and act quickly to keep people safe.”

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For more information and to arrange interviews with the leaders of the Associations mentioned in this release, contact Daniel Paul (021) 400 993.
 

​In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Sky Tower, we've dusted off some old photos from inside the CANZ archives for everyone to see. These were the submission photos for Job of the year in '98.

View the photos from the Job below