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The Association of Scientists warns that the charges facing a Crown Research Institute could silence the scientific community, preventing the exchange of vital information in a crisis.
The eruption of the White Island of Whakaari last year seen from a tourist boat.
Photo: Supplied / Lillani Hopkins
GNS Science is one of 13 parties that WorkSafe has charged with health and safety breaches that led to the Whakaari eruption that killed 22 people in December last year. The Crown Research Institute is responsible for alerts on volcanic activity on the island.
The association’s president, Troy Baisden, said prosecuting a scientific institution could create a cone of silence while legal proceedings are carried out.
“We really need free and frank advice, and it needs to be quick and carefully consider the uncertainties that people need to hear because the government needs to take action and people need to make a lot of individual decisions in an emergency.”
This Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the eruption and Baisden said people are denied the ability to analyze the details of what happened.
“The WorkSafe investigation hasn’t even announced who exactly is being charged with what and we don’t know how long the entire process will actually take.”
Baisden said that while disaster preparedness can still be considered, the GNS and Whakaari case in terms of the eruption that occurred a year ago probably cannot be considered in much detail due to the charges.
Not only should scientists be able to give free and frank advice to the government, they should be quickly followed up with scientists providing information to the public through the media, he said.
Baisden said one example where this got blocked was in Italy, where Italian scientists were jailed after the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake, which killed 29 people.
Baisden said scientists are concerned the allegations may deter scientists from speaking up.
“Six earthquake scientists were prosecuted in that incident and investigated, finally acquitted when it became clear that it was the government that had repeated and miscommunicated the messages they had delivered.
“So it’s potentially chilling and you can imagine what it’s like to be a scientist in this kind of environment, where maybe people have trained their entire career and just have one major event where they can use their developed skills through throughout a career to help protect the public – what if it doesn’t work out? “
Baisden said that a lot can be done to ensure scientists communicate well during a disaster, including listening to a variety of voices, including Maori.
“We can access, for example, the indigenous knowledge that Dan Hikuroa and Te Pūnaha Matatini have pointed out that can be precise, exact and rigorous to convey knowledge of past dangers.
“The trick is to make sure it’s available in a way that helps us get through the entire crisis and prevents misinformation from taking hold.”
