A report in The Guardian says that Worksafe New Zealand has filed charges against 13 parties over the White Island/Whakaari volcano tragedy, which killed 22 people in December 2019, with ten parties charged under health and safety laws and three charged as directors or individuals
The report says that the 13 parties charged are as part of its investigation into last December’s White Island/Whakaari volcano eruption, with almost one year on, several survivors are still undergoing treatment for their injuries.
The volcano erupted while 47 people were on the island – including several tour groups and their guides, with 22 victims from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, China, Britain and Malaysia.
Ten parties face charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act which carries a maximum fine of $A1.5m (US$1.06m) and three individuals are charged as directors or individuals who were required to exercise due diligence to ensure the company meets its health and safety obligations. These charges each carry a maximum fine of $300,000.
With the charges laid by WorkSafe, the county’s workplace health and safety regulator, WorkSafe chief executive Phil Parkes said during a press conference on Monday, “This was an unexpected event, but that does not mean it was unforeseeable and there is a duty on operators to protect those in their care.”
He added, “We investigated whether those with any involvement in taking tourists to the island were meeting their obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.” “We consider that these 13 parties did not meet those obligations”.
Parkes said. “Those who went to the island, did so with the reasonable expectation that there were appropriate systems in place to ensure they made it home healthy and safe,” adding, “New Zealand must ensure that “our mothers, fathers, children and friends come home to us healthy and safe at the end of each day.”
Parkes said he could not respond to the question of whether tourists should have been visiting the island at all as that would be covered in the court case.
Two Government agencies, GNS Science, which is responsible for monitoring volcanic activity, and the National Emergency Management Agency, which provides leadership in reducing risk, being ready for, responding to and recovering from emergencies, have volunteered that they are among those charged.
In a statement on its website, GNS Science said it had yet to learn details of the charges it faces but “we stand by our people and our science”, adding, “We will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities, while carrying on with the crucial role GNS Science has in monitoring and sharing scientific information about Aotearoa New Zealand’s geo-hazards, including volcanoes.”
The principals of White Island Tours and Volcanic Air have reportedly also acknowledged that they companies were among those charged.
The parties were not named in the report because under New Zealand law, they have the right to seek suppression of their names in their first court appearance on December 15.
New Zealand Prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, welcomed the transparency from the government agencies, but said she would leave the case to the courts, adding, “We need this to be an independent process that people can have trust confidence and faith in”.
Parkes said the investigation was the largest and most complex investigation in WorkSafe’s history, with the WorkSafe investigation focused on the organisations that took the tourists to the island and did not cover the rescue and recovery of the dead and injured. Those actions may be the subject of other proceedings, such as a coronial inquest.
The investigation report would not be released because it was central to the criminal proceedings, with Parkes saying Worksafe, which also does safety audits of adventure tourism organisations, would review how it goes about its own work.
Royal Caribbean Cruises where the victims booked the tours has not been mentioned in the actions.
A report by John Alwyn-Jones
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