Labour Pledges Corporate Manslaughter Law to Protect Workers in Aotearoa

On 19 September 2026, Labour leader Chris Hipkins announced a significant policy shift aimed at enhancing worker safety and corporate accountability across Aotearoa. Speaking at the E tū election campaign launch, Hipkins committed a future Labour government to creating a specific corporate manslaughter offence. This would allow companies to face criminal liability in instances where serious organisational failures result in a worker’s death. The announcement comes as a response to the Government’s recent Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026, which received Royal assent on 8 July. While the current Government argues that these reforms reduce compliance costs and provide certainty for businesses, Labour and other opposition parties, including Te Pāti Māori and the Greens, have argued that the changes weaken essential protections for those in the workforce. E tū, a major union in New Zealand, has welcomed the proposed corporate manslaughter legislation. The union noted that such measures have been sought since the 2010 Pike River Mine disaster, where 29 men lost their lives. Mark Anderson, a gold miner and E tū industry council convenor, emphasised that workers in high-risk sectors such as mining understand how quickly failures can become fatal. He stated that stronger accountability is necessary when corporate decisions contribute to workplace tragedies. In addition to the new criminal offence, Hipkins pledged to reverse the 2026 health and safety reforms, restore Fair Pay Agreements, and extend the Living Wage. These commitments place workplace safety and the protection of whānau at the forefront of the Election 2026 agenda. By focusing on the rights of workers to return home safely, the proposed policies aim to ensure that corporate accountability matches the gravity of workplace risks.