WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s workplace safety watchdog handed down criminal charges on Monday over last year’s White Island volcanic eruption that claimed 22 lives and left dozens more with horrific burns.
WorkSafe had investigated why 47 people, mainly Australian tourists, were on the island in December 2019 when a column of burning ash and steam blasted from a volcanic vent.
Chief executive Phil Parkes announced charges against 10 organisations and three individuals who took tourists to the country’s most active volcano just weeks after the eruption threat alert level had been raised.
“This deeply tragic event was unexpected but that does not mean it was unforeseeable,” Parkes said.
“The victims, both workers and visitors alike, all had a reasonable expectation that they could go to the island knowing that the organisations involved had done all they were required to do to look after their health and safety,” he added.
Parkes refused to detail who was facing charges in case the court granted them name suppression, although the identities of some were revealed through other sources.
Two tour company operators told local media that they had been charged, while Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that two government agencies were also being prosecuted.
She said the agencies are GNS Science, responsible for monitoring volcanic activity, and the National Emergency Management Authority, which handles disaster planning.
“There is no easy process here but it is the job of WorkSafe to ensure that if there are questions to be answered that they lead the charge on that,” she said.
“It’s an independent decision for them... we really need to leave it at that.”
The prosecution by WorkSafe does not carry the threat of jail time for those who took tourists sightseeing on the island, with hefty fines being the maximum penalty. — AFP
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