Fine labelled ‘disgrace’ by grieving partner
Piri Bartlett went to work in a forest on the East Cape on August 18, 2017, to provide for his young family. The 23-year-old never came home.
Tragedy struck again for Bartlett’s fiance, Te Rangimarie Rautjoki, with the death of the couple’s 2-year-old boy a year later.
Bartlett’s employer, Blackstump Logging Ltd, has admitted it failed to keep him safe and was fined $150,000.
Rautjoki said the fine was a disgrace.
‘‘There is no sentence that could equal the suffering we endure daily, or justify the lifetime and future stolen from us,’’ she said.
The wha¯ nau’s hopes of justice were shattered by the ruling, issued in April, Rautjoki said.
‘‘It has ripped apart my already broken heart. The pain is indescribable, and I hope no family will ever have to go through this. If they do, I would ask them not to place their faith in the socalled justice system to do what is right. They will only be left with nothing but heartache,’’ she said.
When he left home that morning nearly three years ago, he left Te Rangimarie and their 1-yearold boy Rehua. Rehua died of illness just short of his third birthday, a year after Piri died, and is buried with Piri at Te Araroa.
Bartlett died from injuries he suffered while working near a hauler as it pulled logs up a hill by a wire cable.
There were no witnesses to his death and pathologists were unable to say what caused his injuries, but a WorkSafe investigation found that Blackstump had been operating the hauler without guards covering the drums around which the cable was hauled back on to.
The company knew it was supposed to be using guards, and that failure to use them posed a risk that could be fatal. It advised workers to stay clear of the drums while the hauler was extracting logs.
The company had arranged for a guard on the drum about six weeks before Bartlett’s death. It hadn’t been installed because it was being painted.
WorkSafe charged Blackstump with exposing Bartlett to a risk of death or serious injury. The company pleaded guilty in June last year.
In the April decision, Judge Warren Cathcart acknowledged the company’s good track record.
He accepted there had been genuine remorse by the company and acknowledged that the company had paid Bartlett’s family $50,000 as well as putting $9000 toward funeral and other costs.
The fact there was no evidential link between the lack of guarding and Bartlett’s injuries and death reduced the seriousness of the offence, but the unguarded drums presented an obvious hazard, the judge said.
Blackstump argued that it would not be able to pay a fine of more than $50,000 without a risk of it ceasing trading.
WorkSafe argued it could afford the fine, which could be paid by instalments.
Cathcart fined the company $150,000 and ordered it to pay $7920 costs.
Te Rangimarie and her mother Tui Warmenhoven are pushing for change in the industry.
‘‘Piri went to work that day, as always, to earn money to provide for his wife and young boy. He never came home. The prosecution was not about money for us, or whether a company could afford a fine. It was about justice. Justice for Piri and his family. To be honest, we don’t believe the fine imposed here provides justice,’’ Warmenhoven said.
‘‘As a wha¯ nau we want to do what we can to see this doesn’t happen to another family. We believe forestry operators like Blackstump should be using cameras to record what occurs at these sites so that in cases similar to Piri’s it will be clear what actually happened. Footage from the cameras could be viewed by regulators on a regular basis to ensure these companies are complying with rules and legislation. That is what we would like to see,’’ she said.
Forestry Industry Safety Council national safety director Fiona Ewing said the use of cameras would need to be discussed with workers.
‘‘While understanding why incidents happen can be useful, the focus needs to be on preventing them from occurring in the first place,’’ she said.
Blackstump directors Wayne and Angela McEwan said Blackstump had accepted the court’s decision ‘‘and will meet the obligation required’’.