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Worksafe has filed criminal charges against 13 parties in connection with the Whakaari / White Island eruption in December last year.
The 13 parties include 10 organizations and three individuals. Each of the organizations faces a maximum fine of $ 1.5 million and individuals face fines of up to $ 300,000.
In announcing the findings, WorkSafe CEO Phil Parkes said he would not release the investigation report because the matter is now before the courts.
“This deeply tragic event was unexpected, but that doesn’t mean it was unpredictable,” he said.
“The victims, both workers and visitors, had a reasonable expectation that they could go to the island knowing that the organizations involved had done everything they had to do to take care of their health and safety. But had they done it? That is the WorkSafe question. he had the mandate to investigate.
“After the largest and most complex investigation WorkSafe has ever conducted, we concluded that 13 parties failed to meet their obligations and should face charges in court.”
Parkes said the charges were filed this morning and that the judicial process would conclude the most extensive and complex investigation ever conducted by the regulator.
“All companies have a series of obligations. The charges for the companies were due to not doing what was reasonably feasible to ensure the safety of workers and visitors to the island,” he said. “These are criminal charges.”
“Today my team has brought charges in Auckland District Court against 10 organizations and three individuals under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
“The three individuals each face a single charge that, as company officials, they failed to exercise due diligence to ensure that the organization met its health and safety obligations.”
He said that every party, be it an organization or an individual, could seek name suppression, so he would not name them at this time.
He said the first hearing was scheduled for December 15 at the Auckland District Court.
“The integrity of the process is paramount, I will not comment on either party until the 15th.”
He said that the WorkSafe investigation did not consider the rescue and recovery of the victims after the eruption, so no enforcement action was taken on those matters.
Parkes said WorkSafe needed to press charges within 12 months of the incident.
Photo: Screenshot / YouTube / Allessandro Kauffman
“The focus of our investigation was on the events that led to the eruption.”
He said that at this point, there had been no censorship for anyone at WorkSafe, but the regulator was making changes to the way it implemented the Adventure Activities Regulations.
Any discussion about the future of the island was beyond the scope of the investigations, Parkes said.
WorkSafe began its investigation immediately after the volcanic eruption on the island on December 9 of last year.
It is believed that 47 people were visiting the site at the time, mostly tourists. The eruption caused 22 deaths, with police confirming the latest as related to the eruption last week.
