Hello and welcome to the April edition of IP News and the Autumn season. In this edition we have included a resource to keep you informed of the New Zealand Road Safety Strategy and there are many interesting conferences and events coming up - check out the Events section. There's also some information on a Ladder Exchange Programme - read more in the Resources Section.

On a sad note, Dr Alan Parsons lost his battle with cancer on 9 February. He will be much missed by so many but particularly by his colleagues at New Plymouth Injury Safe. They have included a very touching tribute on their website.

Daylight saving ends this Saturday (3 April) with the cooler days of winter beckoning so it is a good time to get those electric blankets out of storage and checked. In the meantime, enjoy the last days of summer and, if you are driving over the Easter weekend, don't forget those rest stops on long trips.

The Ministry of Transport have put together some information to ensure that people are aware of Safer Journeys and feel informed about the strategy.

Changes to Land Transport Rules now in effect are expected to simplify regulations. Full details can be found on the NZ Transport Agency website.

Bright blue bath mats with a water safety message will appear in homes around New Zealand thanks to a new campaign by Water Safety New Zealand and The Royal New Zealand Plunket Society Inc.

Water safety and water confidence sessions were delivered at eight swimming pools at the end of January. There were 270 participants aged 1-14 years. An increased number of parents participated and particularly dads. This project commenced in 2006 and has reflected a positive evaluation each year.

Safekids made a submission on the Local Government (Auckland Law) Reform Bill. Safekids believes the Bill provides an opportunity to include child health and safety as a strategic priority in the overall functions of the Auckland Council and its subsidiary organisations.

"The intention is for changes to be included within the final Act that will empower the Auckland Council to be more efficient and effective in ensuring sensible child safety measures are enacted and maintained across its departments and subsidiary organisations," said Julie Chambers, Safekids Senior Advisor.

For more information, visit the Safekids website.

The Minister of Health is seeking clinician's views on a proposal to expand the current role of PHARMAC. More information is available on their website.

New Zealanders will soon have the opportunity to make submissions on whether alcoholic beverages should be required to carry health warnings. Submissions can be made until 14 May 2010. More details on the ALAC website.

Safekids made recommendations to the Department of Labour's Safe Use of ATVs on New Zealand Farms: Agricultural Guideline, which is under review.
The recommendations are as follows:

• Recommend legislation to prohibit children under the age of 16 from operating an ATV.
• Recommend that the coverage of the 'Guidelines' is extended to all ATV use in New Zealand, and not be restricted to farms, forestry and the adventure tourism sectors.
• Recommend that the 'Guidelines' emphasise that riders always wear a helmet when riding an ATV, given the high rate of head and facial injuries.'
• Recommend that there be mandatory safety training and ongoing education for all those operating ATVs.

For the complete submission and more information on ATV safety, visit the Safekids website.

Safekids have made a submission on the Safer Journeys discussion document with the aim to urge the government to align its child car restraint laws with international best practice. For more information visit either the Ministry of Transport or Safekids websites.

After 20 years, Russell Hendry has retired from the position of Injury Prevention Consultant.

Carrie Suszko, IPC in Wellington has left to return to Dunedin and complete her education degree.

Jenny Barnes will be retiring as Team Administrator in April after over 12 years with ACC.

Amie McCombe is on maternity leave from her position as IPC in Dunedin.

Diana Pedlow, Programme Manager with the NZIPS Secretariat, has begun a 12 month secondment with the Department of Internal Affairs.

Megan Bly has returned from maternity leave and is working part-time as Programme Manager with the NZIPS Secretariat.

The theme of this fifth conference is 'Evolving Communities Beyond Services'.

The theme of this inaugural conference is Identifying Issues and Planning Solutions. All young leaders with an interest are invited to attend. Full details on their website.

We are seeking enrolments for IPNANZ Mentor training being held in Wellington on 27 and 28 May 2010.

Mentoring is a process where one person - mentor (normally a senior IPNANZ colleague) offers help, acts as a sounding board, provides guidance, advice and support to facilitate the learning or career development of another person (mentee - a new IPNANZ practitioner). Read more about the IPNANZ Mentoring Programme and the Mentor's enrolment form. Applications due 23 April 2010.
Contact Val Norton or phone 04 472 2566.

Call for Abstracts closes 19 April 2010
This symposium is the first of its kind in New Zealand. It is an opportunity for all of those involved in graffiti management around the country to come together, network with others, hear and share solutions that work.

You will be able to hear from the three keynote speakers from Canada and USA who will share their extensive knowledge on this subject. For more information contact the ARGFP Coordinator, Stewart Andrews, (or phone 0274 344 115).

It is very important to register online by 30 April 2010 and take advantage of the reasonable packages for travel and accommodation arrangements.

Healing Our Spirit Worldwide is an Indigenous cultural celebration that will focus on successes, wise practices and common issues in health, healing and addictions within Indigenous communities. The Sixth Gathering will radiate the wisdom of our kupuna (elders) and the aloha of the land and the Indigenous people of ka pae 'aina Hawai'i.

The conference focuses on five public health strategies to address imbalances and promote equity in mental health within five thematic areas.

The latest chartbooks are now available on the publications page of the NZIPS website.

Findings from this study conducted by researchers at the University of Otago's Injury Prevention Research Unit have now been published. Find links to the full reports in the IPLit database.

The following were recipients of the HRC 2010 Career Development Awards. Full details of their awards are listed here.
• Mr Ravi Reddy, The University of Auckland
• Mrs Joanna Fadyl at AUT University
• Ms Pikihuia Pomare, The University of Auckland
• Ms Kahu McClintock, Te Rau Matatini
• Ms Karlo Mila-Schaaf, University of Otago

The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council manage the National Incident Database on behalf of a number of outdoor organisations. This database is divided into ski field incidents and those that occur within outdoor education or outdoor recreation. This database enables registered users to contribute their own incident data and use the database to generate organisation reports. Importantly national reports are compiled from the collated data and the findings shared with those involved in the outdoor sector.

The Mountain Safety Council also collect avalanche incident data and circulate this technical terrain information within the outdoor sector. The Mountain Safety Council Research Manager welcomes the opportunity to discuss potential research projects related to outdoor recreation safety. Annie Dignan's contact details are 04 9159284. The MSC website provides more information on the MSC research programme.