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Online Meeting: Governance SIG: Governance Lessons from Gibson v Maritime New Zealand Appeal
Join the NZISM Governance Forum for this exclusive session with Mike Cosman!
A recent High Court decision has sharpened the conversation around officer due diligence, governance accountability, and the role of senior leaders in health and safety. The case has become a significant reference point for how courts assess what is expected of officers when it comes to understanding risks, assuring controls, and overseeing safety performance in complex organisations.
For H&S professionals advising executives and boards, the decision raises important questions about how governance oversight is demonstrated, what reasonable assurance looks like in practice, and how leaders show that they are across critical risks without stepping into day‑to‑day management.
In this NZISM Governance Forum session, Mike Cosman, one of New Zealand’s leading safety governance experts, will take members through what this decision means from a governance perspective, and why it matters for H&S professionals working at executive and board level. This session also provides an opportunity for NZISM Governance Forum members to ask clarifying questions, building confidence to support conversations with Boards and senior executives.
This meeting will be hosted by Priyanka Victor-D'Souza
This session will not be recorded.
Your registration confirmation will include the zoom link.
By registering for this session, you will be identified as a Governance Interest Group participant and may receive emails with exclusive updates and relevant information.
Members only
Your presenter:
Mike Cosman Mike is a highly experienced risk and safety management specialist who has worked in this field for over 46 years as a regulator, manager, policy maker and consultant in the UK and for the past 22 years in New Zealand. He was a member of the Government Taskforce set up after the Pike River Mine disaster that helped shape the current legislative framework and of the Independent Forestry Safety Review. As well as working with many public and private sector clients, he has been the external advisor to 12 boards and health and safety governance committees. He chaired the board of the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management for 8 years until mid 2025 and is the external advisor to the health and safety governance committees of Department of Conservation, HEB Construction, PACT Packaging NZ, Ernslaw One and is the independent chair of the National Health and Safety Committee for Southern Cross Healthcare. Mike is called upon as an expert witness in several different jurisdictions including the District, Employment, High and Coroners Court, ERA, EPA and in civil matters.