Whakaari tragedy: a way forward
The prosecutions against more than a dozen parties in relation to the Whakaari/White Island eruption have been welcomed by survivors and families of victims. Nothing will undo the terrible consequences of that day a year ago next week but the prosecutions acknowledge the scale of the tragedy which unfolded off the east coast of the North Island.
Work Safe this week lodged the charges against 13 parties in relation to the eruption which took 22 lives and injured a further 25, some severely.
Ten parties face charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act, with potential fines of up to $1.5 million and three people have been charged as directors or individuals who were required to exercise due diligence to ensure the company meets its health and safety obligations, charges each carrying a maximum fine of $300,000.
Work Safe is to be commended for bringing the charges within a year of such a massive event, during a time of unprecedented upheaval due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those charged will no doubt have also endured an anxious time during the investigations and will want the process concluded in as timely a fashion as possible.
Forty-seven people were on the island when it erupted on December 9 last year. Nineteen tourists and two tour guides from White Island Tours were among the dead after the volcanic island erupted beneath them during a sightseeing tour.
Many more would have died if not for the heroic actions of tour guides, fellow tourists, helicopter charter pilots who flew out to the island in an unsanctioned rescue mission, and then the determined work of specialist medical teams.
There have been many calls from academics and politicians for a public inquiry into the events surrounding the eruption. In the lead up to this year’s general election, National Party leader Judith Collins called on the Government to launch a royal commission of inquiry and said she would order such an inquiry if elected.
Commissions of inquiry do not always provide all the answers the public and victims want, and neither do prosecutions. But these are the processes we must place our trust in to seek essential answers. Any commission of inquiry can wait until after the charges have been heard.
Prosecutions are not solely about resolving questions for a concerned public; with the action comes potential punitive outcomes and wider recognition that unlawful actions which endanger life, whether negligent or reckless, will be held to account.
That is not to say anyone involved here has failed in their duties to the degree required for a prosecution, merely that a WorkSafe investigation has uncovered enough to warrant the consideration of the courts.
A cloud hangs over the nation after the tragedy during what was meant to be an enjoyable encounter with our wild environment. Bringing these matters before the court is the best step forward in recognising what went wrong and what we can do to avoid such a disaster happening again.