New Zealand Journal of Forestry (2013) 58(2): 2
©New Zealand Institute of Forestry

Editorial
Getting attention for forestry

Julian Bateson <sup>1

1</sup> Editor, New Zealand Journal of Forestry

Shouting louder and longer seems to get attention. It may be unfair, but it is often the reality. A lot of media coverage at the moment concerns the accident rate in forestry. This year the accident rate has been nothing short of appalling with six deaths so far. The average over the past few years has been a third of that, a figure which was still too high. It is not at the top of the news every day, but it is in the headlines frequently. However, the number of deaths and injuries from quad bikes does not hit the headlines in the same way. I do not have the exact figures for this year, but the number killed over the past few years has been around five each year, similar to the number of deaths in forestry. Since January there will also have been over 400 serious injuries from quad bike accidents on farms, if the recent average is maintained.
(no keywords)