High Court Quashes Whakaari White Island Owners 2019 Eruption Conviction
- Paora Manuel
- Feb 28
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 1
The owners of Whakaari White Island have had their 2019 eruption conviction quashed by the High Court.
Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was charged by Worksafe for failing to comply with a duty that they managed or controlled, under section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HASWA), prior to the deadly 2019 eruption that killed 22 people.
WML was convicted and fined $1 million as well as paying $4.8 million in victim reparations but the company appealed their conviction.
The High Court appeal focused on whether WML had a duty and whether it was breached and if it exposed people to a risk of death or serious injury.
In a just released decision the High Court allowed the appeal quashing WML's conviction.
Justice Simon Moore rejected Worksafe's argument WML must have managed or controlled the walking tour workplace because it was an active volcano in need of risk management, describing it as putting “the horse before the cart.”
WML only controlled the workplace through granting tour operators access to and from “the wharf or helicopter landing zone to the crater lake,” Justice Moore said.
Justice Moore said granting access did not give WML the ability to manage or control what happened on those tours.
He also said it was not practicable for WML to do a risk assessment as they were entitled to rely on similiar assessments done by Government agencies and other stakeholders that monitored the island.
Justice Moore found that if WML was obliged to do its own risk assessment and better consulted with GNS Science and tour operators, “it is likely that these steps would have reduced the risks that tourists were exposed to.”
Despite the appeal, Justice Moore said multiple systemic failures meant the 47 people on the island when it erupted should never have been there.
In a statement, Worksafe chief executive Sharon Thompson said they acknowelege the High Court decision and are considering “our next steps, including on whether to seek to appeal.”
“The convictions and sentences of six other entities prosecuted by WorkSafe remain,” Thompson said.
A statement from WML directors Andrew, Peter and Buttle provided to 1XX News said they hope the verdict “is the final chapter in the criminal proceedings resulting from the Whakaari tragedy.”
“Since the day of the eruption our thoughts have been and will always be with the families of those who lost their lives on Whakaari and those who continue to suffer from their injuries,” the Buttle family said.
The family said the appeal and decision “in no way diminishes the tragedy the victims have suffered.”
The family also said they hope the decision will “bring certainty for all landowners who grant others recreational access to their land.”
“It was important for the Buttle Family to bring the appeal as it also had wide ranging ramifications for landowners throughout the country.”
Buttle family lawyer James Cairney said the decision reflected that WML’s directors acted responsibly and exercised proper care.
