On Friday, a total compensation of NZ$10 million (US$6 million) was granted to the victims and families impacted by the 2019 New Zealand volcano disaster, which resulted in the loss of 22 lives. The responsibility for payment falls upon five companies that transported 47 tourists to White Island, also recognized as Whakaari, during the eruption of the active volcanic island. It was the most significant action brought by New Zealand’s workplace safety regulator, Worksafe NZ. The court ruled that the owners of Whakaari Management Ltd – which licenses tours to the island – failed to ensure visitors were not put at risk.
Judge Evangelos Thomas said that the company, whose directors had their charges dismissed last month, was found guilty of breaching health and safety law and did not do enough to minimize the risks to people who visited the volcano. He ruled that WML was responsible for carrying out detailed volcanology risk assessments before licensing tours to the island. WML did not carry out such an assessment, he said and did not engage with experts to assess the dangers to its clients.
Judge Thomas, who delivered his ruling in the Auckland District Court on Friday, slammed what he called “astonishing failures” by WML and its contractors. The firm, which has no physical presence on Whakaari and licenses access to the island to other companies, was found to have failed to fulfill its duty to minimize the risks to its clients.
He ruled that the company had failed to make adequate efforts to inform its clients of the risk of an eruption, which occurred on December 9, 2019, as well as what to do in an emergency. It had not heeded warnings that the volcano was at alert level two, meaning there was moderate to heightened volcanic activity and the possibility of an eruption.
Many of the 25 survivors suffered terrible burns as they fled the erupting mountain, which spewed searing gas and ash. They were from countries including Australia, the US and Germany. One woman, Lu, suffered severe burns to 38% of her body and required multiple skin grafts. She spent months in a burns unit and still faces ongoing medical treatment.
The judgment ordered the owner of Whakaari Management to pay a NZ$500,000 fine and NZ$4.7 million in reparations to victims, including three tour operators, White Island Tours, Aerius Limited, and Kahu NZ Limited. Helicopter operator Volcanic Air Safaris was also ordered to pay NZ$330,000 in reparations. The exact reparation amounts for each victim will be adjusted to reflect particular hardship, and Thomas said he hoped the award would serve as a “token recognition” of their anguish. He added that it could be adjusted when children lost their parents. Since the disaster, no boat or aircraft tours have been allowed to land on the island.
