New Zealand volcano owners appeal conviction after eruption killed 22

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: The owners of an island volcano in New Zealand have appealed against their criminal conviction for violating safety laws after their volcano erupted, killing 22 people.

They argued that tour operators, rather than their company, were responsible for the visitors' safety at Whakaari, also known as White Island.

Whakaari Management, owned by brothers Andrew, Peter, and James Buttle, was found guilty last October of charges from New Zealand's workplace safety regulator for failing to ensure visitor safety on White Island. The company was ordered to pay significant fines and restitution to victims of the volcanic eruption, which included cruise ship tourists and their local guides.

In March, the company appealed the ruling. This week, their lawyer, Rachael Reed, argued in the High Court in Auckland that the judge made an error by labeling Whakaari Management as the managers or controllers of a workplace under safety law. Reed asserted that the company's role was limited to providing access to the island and that they relied on tour operators to ensure tourist safety.

White Island, known by its Maori name Whakaari, is the exposed tip of an undersea volcano and was a popular tourist site until the eruption. When superheated steam erupted, it killed some instantly and left others severely burned among the 47 tourists and guides, mainly from the U.S. and Australia, on the island. The 47 people on the island at the time of the eruption consisted of 24 Australians, nine Americans, 5 New Zealanders, four Germans, 2 Chinese, two Britons, and 1 Malaysian.

Following further deaths of some of the injured in subsequent days and weeks after the eruption, the final death toll was twenty-two, including two Australian schoolboys, Matthew, 13, and Berend, 16, and their parents Martin and Barbara Hollander, of Berowra, a Sydney suburb.

The tragedy highlighted New Zealand's adventure tourism industry and led to stricter laws after survivors revealed they were unaware of the volcano's risks.

After a three-month trial, Judge Evangelos Thomas found Whakaari Management guilty of health and safety violations prior to the eruption. He cited a failure to conduct risk assessments despite a previous eruption three years earlier. He concluded that the company should have sought expert advice and either suspended tours or implemented safety controls but dismissed a secondary charge.

New Zealand's workplace safety regulator charged 13 organizations and individuals, including Whakaari Management. Some, including helicopter and boat tour operators and the New Zealand scientific agency GNS Science, pleaded guilty, while other charges were dropped.

In the current three-day appeal, Justice Simon Moore stated that for the appeal to succeed, any error found in the trial judge's decision must amount to a miscarriage of justice. Reed is expected to continue submissions before the regulator's arguments are presented.