The families of some Pike River victims are calling for the introduction of corporate manslaughter legislation in New Zealand after charges against the owners of Whakaari/White Island were dismissed. Photo: GNS
Some families of Pike River victims are calling for stronger laws for companies after charges against the owners of Whakaari/White Island were dismissed.
Whakaari Management Limited were charged for health and safety failures before the volcanic eruption on 9 December 2019 that killed 22 people and left a further 25 seriously injured.
The trial in the Auckland District Court ended last week with charges against the company's directors - Andrew, Peter and James Buttle - thrown out two weeks prior.
Anna Osborne, who lost her husband Milton in the 2010 Pike River disaster, said there needed to be corporate manslaughter law.
She said the system of accountability for deaths and injuries caused by corporations was "broken".
"We've watched charges collapsing because of poor investigations and bad prosecutions of the Whakaari disaster and been heartbroken by how little has changed since Peter Whittall was allowed to walk away from the deaths of our men.
"The status quo just doesn't cut it, we need a law that criminalises actions of corporations that led to death and we need the police to be the investigators."
Osborne said she felt companies took employee health and safety for granted because of the legislative gaps.
"There have been hundreds of avoidable workplace deaths and deaths from corporate misadventure since the Pike River mine exploded 13 years ago.
"But alongside that there's been bugger all accountability.
"Now with the failures of the Whakaari prosecutions it's clear things just haven't changed."
Sonya Rockhouse lost her 21-year-old son Ben at Pike River with other son Daniel narrowly escaping the fiery tragedy.
She said political leaders needed to make good on their promises.
"Over the years we have talked about this with prime ministers, ministers, party spokespeople and an almost endless number of others who have had the power to help make this change. And most of them have agreed with us.
"So why has this not been done yet?"
Rockhouse described the situation as a "disgrace".
"[It] should be a huge source of national shame.
"It shouldn't be hard to do. We've worked this matter through with King's Counsel Nigel Hampton, and he supports the change and says it can be done in law. Why the hell are we waiting? Political leaders need to answer this question."
Both Osborne and Rockhouse were made members of the Order of New Zealand last year for services to the community and occupational health and safety.
In June, the pair were recognised with the Safeguard Lifetime Achievement Award for using their experience to "raise awareness of the need for higher safety and regulatory standards, greater justice in the system, and better treatment of the survivors of mass tragedies and their whānau".
Legislation would send a strong message to employers - Maritime Union
The Maritime Union of New Zealand agreed new corporate manslaughter legislation was necessary.
The union's national secretary Craig Harrison said it had supported corporate manslaughter laws "in principle for a number of years".
He said it was unacceptable workers were dying and being injured on the job because of unsafe working conditions.
"The terrible tragedy of Pike River is an indictment on how the interests of senior managers, directors and shareholders were put before the lives of workers," he said.
"It is now necessary to ensure that strong laws are in place to provide an incentive for employers to ensure safe workplaces, and to send a strong message to those employers who choose to put workers in danger."
There have been 18 deaths in New Zealand ports over the last 10 years, alongside a substantial number of serious injuries.
Harrison said progress had been made around health and safety within the ports sector.
Working alongside the union, the Port of Auckland put the country's first stevedoring code of practice in place earlier this year, advising how to best load and unload ships safely.
Steps taken to ensure accountability, says Labour's justice spokesperson
Labour justice spokesperson Ginny Andersen said the government had taken steps to "ensure that corporations and management who cause the death of a person are held accountable for their actions".
"In 2019, we amended the 'year and a day rule' which prevented people from being prosecuted for causing the death of a person who dies after that length of time," she said.
"This rule was also a potential bar to prosecution in the CTV building collapse following the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes."
While the change was not retrospective, it meant those who broke the law in future could not rely on that rule to escape prosecution, she said.
"Further work on corporate manslaughter is something I'm committed to looking at next term. I can't commit to an offence before we have full advice, but it's something we will review."