Article below from NZ Herald and Northern Advocate - 21.08.23
A popular Northland dive operator has avoided a WorkSafe prosecution over an incident that put school students at risk of drowning while on a trip to the Poor Knights Islands.
Dive! Tutukaka Limited instead had their enforceable undertaking application accepted by WorkSafe.
The privately-owned business has committed more than a quarter of a million dollars to health and safety improvements following the traumatic Tauraroa Area School trip on December 7, 2020.
Owner Kate Malcolm said Dive! Tutukaka unreservedly apologises for any of their actions that caused harm to the students and their whānau.
A 14-year-old student feared she would drown after she and her 13-year-old classmate got stuck in a sea cave when their kayak capsized.
The girl’s foot became trapped in a crevice, forcing her to hold her breath each time a wave crashed over her. Her classmate, wedged between some rocks to keep his head above water, wanted to help but feared he would drown if he did so.
The boy was not wearing a lifejacket or wetsuit, unlike the girl, who wore a lifejacket.
A rescuer eventually pulled the girl to safety. However, he was unable to move her frightened classmate so hoisted himself and the boy on to a ledge above the water. Together they waited two hours for the Northland Rescue Helicopter to arrive.
Tauraroa Area School was sentenced in December last year after the school’s board of trustees pleaded guilty to one charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 for exposing two individuals to the risk of harm or illness.
The school was ordered to pay emotional reparation to both students - the sum of which was suppressed - but avoided a fine due to its financial circumstances.
At the time, Dive! Tutukaka faced the same charge under the act but WorkSafe today announced the dive operator has entered into a legally-binding safety pledge, known as an enforceable undertaking.
The measure involves an accused party committing to taking steps that support higher standards of work health and safety for the benefit of staff or the workplace and the community, as well as remedy the harm caused to any victims.
Dive! Tutukaka’s commitment includes reparations to the two students, professional development and training for staff, funding and training for the Northland Rescue Helicopter and Coastguard Tutukaka, water confidence programmes for youth, and partnering with Education Outdoors New Zealand to upskill providers working with schools.
Malcolm said Dive! Tutukaka stood accountable for its actions. The family-run local business would have to budget and “work hard” to find the funds for the enforceable undertaking.
“We don’t take this lightly, this is not a get-of-jail-free card, nor is it an easy financial option. This is not a ‘pay the money and make it go away’ moment.
“We have not chosen an easy path, but the right one. This will hurt, but we will make a difference, and it is the right thing to do if we want to effect real change.”
Malcolm said Dive! Tutukaka’s aim was to ensure the children involved and their whānau heal and that a similar event does not happen again.
She explained how the incident had sparked a number of learnings for the business, which included treating schools more like audited bodies and asking if they also have accountability within their systems.
“We no longer have full faith that a group or body ought reasonably to know what they are booking, nor that they are as responsible and accountable as we are.”
She said by having more robust conversations, Dive! Tutukaka is able to outline the expectations they have of schools and “eliminate as many blind assumptions as possible”.
WorkSafe will regularly monitor progress on the agreed conditions and can resume prosecution if the commitment is not upheld.
The EU is attached as pdf below: