20/08/2026
The Ministers anouncements today are concerning.
There is certainly an argument to be made for a prescriptive method of operating agricultural drones, but using terms like "routine" and "low risk" only displays the lack of knowledge and consultation that has happened on the topic they are supposed to be regulating.
If a JHA has potential outcomes in it that includes things severing limbs, its pretty hard to argue that the job is "low risk". Even ignoring all the chemical risks etc, flying agricultural UAVs is never "low risk", claiming otherwise is ignorance, wilful or not.
The industry has been lobbying successive governments for the same thing for many years: UAV pilot licensing. Little traction has been had as it requires investment of resources to establish. However, when combined with other controls such as standards and SOPs, it is the only way to achieve aviation and chemical application safety with a prescriptive method.
This image may be confronting, but it is the reality of what happens when you combine easy access to hardware, poor training and poor regulatory oversight. Luckily this person didn't die, there are many now that have.
We need smarter regulation, not deregulation. Do better.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/1067016/government-scraps-certification-requirement-for-some-drone-operations
https://aianz.org.nz/aviation-industry-warns-rushed-drone-reforms-risk-safety-and-environment/
