Charges brought against skipper of fishing boat
The skipper of a boat that broke up on the rocks below Dunedin's albatross centre a year ago is facing two charges.
A Maritime New Zealand spokesman said yesterday the government agency had completed its investigation into the June 2024 grounding and sinking of the commercial fishing vessel Tamahine at Taiaroa Heads.
"We have filed two charges under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 (s65 and s71) against one person as a result of the investigation."
The charges — a failure to comply with duties in relation to maritime activity and dangerous activity involving ships or maritime products — could result in hefty fines or even imprisonment.
A Ministry of Justice staff member said the skipper, Teone Taiaroa, would next appear in court on July 3.
Mr Taiaroa and a crew member were airlifted to safety in what was described at the time as a textbook rescue.
He was winched to safety after the 14m Tamahine ran aground and was rocking in the swell below the Royal Albatross Centre on Otago Peninsula about 6.45am on June 4 last year.
The coastguard and nearby fishing vessels were already on the scene when the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter team arrived to winch down two Dunedin Marine Search and Rescue rescue swimmers.
The first rescue swimmer went to Mr Taiaroa, who had remained aboard the boat as it was becoming overwhelmed by waves.
The second rescuer went to the crew member who had become stranded on nearby rocks.
The rescuer established the crew member was safe and returned to the boat to assist.
The two rescuers moved the skipper off the boat before he and one of the rescuers were winched up to safety.
Mr Taiaroa was taken to Dunedin Hospital in a moderate condition, and the crew member was assessed and treated at the scene.
A Givealittle page set up in the days following the incident noted Mr Taiaroa came from a family with a long history on the peninsula and that was "very well respected" in the community.
The boat was launched in 1960, it said.
hamish.maclean@odt.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Leak suggests minister's U-turn on alcohol sales reform
By Guyon Espiner of RNZ A leaked Cabinet paper shows the government was planning to restrict the hours bottle stores and supermarkets could sell alcohol but then backed away to focus on reforms more friendly to the alcohol industry. The Associate Justice Minister - ACT's Nicole McKee - is reforming the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and had said that part of her focus would be reducing alcohol harm, which currently costs the country $9.1 billion a year. But documents leaked to RNZ, including a draft Cabinet paper, suggest the minister is now switching the focus of her reforms to making business easier for the alcohol industry. The documents show McKee initially proposed to change off-licence sale hours, from the current 7am to 11pm, to only allow alcohol sales between 9am and 9pm. The draft Cabinet paper says restricting opening hours could have had a major impact on violent crime - preventing 2400 "violent victimisations" each year. But that move has now been axed. A Ministry of Justice email, also leaked to RNZ, shows justice officials "were directed by Minister McKee to proceed with speed to lodge a revised Cabinet paper" to go before a Cabinet committee on August 13. "The focus of the paper had changed during negotiations - it is now on reducing regulatory burden with some of the harm reduction measures no longer included - e.g. reducing maximum default trading hours." McKee told RNZ it was regrettable her draft Cabinet paper was leaked. "I won't be discussing a few cherry-picked parts of a draft paper through the media before I've even had an opportunity to discuss the issue with my Cabinet colleagues," she said in a statement to RNZ. "I am extremely disappointed that a draft Cabinet paper has been shared with media. This undermines the integrity of the public service and erodes New Zealanders' trust in public servants." 'Strong correlation' between off-licence opening hours and violent crime The leaks show that in an early version of her Cabinet paper, McKee proposed to restrict bottle store opening hours to between 9am and 9pm in a bid to reduce violent crime. "I am focused on hazardous drinking which can lead to violent crime. Evidence shows a strong correlation between later opening hours for off-licences and violent crime," the Cabinet paper originally said. "Ministry of Justice analysis indicates that bringing forward the closing hour to 9pm could see up to 2400 fewer violent victimisations annually." The paper said restricting opening hours would reduce sales revenue for off-licences, as about 20 percent of sales were made between 8pm and 11pm and about 2 percent before 9am. The paper originally said the impacts on business had been "weighed carefully" against the benefits of reducing violent crime. But the leaks show this was changed in a later version. "I am not proposing any changes to the maximum trading hours for licence holders," McKee wrote in the updated paper, noting Auckland and Christchurch had already set a 9pm closing time under their Local Alcohol Policies. "I consider that this is sufficient to manage concerns around licence hours." Focus now on 'reducing red tape' for law-abiding businesses McKee would not be interviewed by RNZ, but confirmed her reforms would now focus on making it easier for businesses in the alcohol industry. "My focus is on reducing red tape restricting businesses and New Zealanders who play by the rules. The law Labour left us with is a mess," she said. The draft Cabinet paper obtained by RNZ shows McKee is now proposing to make it easier for clubs and bars to serve alcohol outside normal trading hours when screening major sport or cultural events. McKee's Cabinet paper also proposes giving the alcohol industry more power when faced with objections to liquor licences. The paper says changes in 2023 allowed any person or group to oppose a liquor licence but that McKee wants to overturn this so objections only come from the community impacted. "To better balance community voice and impacts on business I seek agreement to only allow objections to licensing applications by people or groups and organisations in the same territorial authority as the premises." There are also moves to protect businesses impacted by changes to a council's Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) - where communities determine when and how alcohol is sold. "To protect existing businesses if a LAP is adopted or amended I also seek agreement to prevent a DLC (District Licensing Committee) from declining a renewal application if the licence would be inconsistent with the relevant LAP." The changes would also give applicants for a liquor licence a right of reply to objections received in DLC hearings. Andrew Galloway, executive director of Alcohol Healthwatch, funded by the Ministry of Health, said reducing trading hours for bottle stores and supermarkets would have had a major impact on reducing alcohol harm. "Off-licences sell over 80 percent of alcohol in Aotearoa and these off-licences are over-concentrated in the most deprived areas. Restricting off-licence supply of alcohol would be especially important in reducing alcohol-related harm." Galloway said that when he became aware the government was looking at restricting off-licence trading hours he said to his team "we should prepare for a U-turn" once industry lobbying swung into action. "We will continue to miss every meaningful opportunity to reduce or prevent alcohol harm in New Zealand if we continue to allow unbridled access to power for harmful commodity industries."
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Skipper was distracted by phone before grounding
The skipper of stricken fishing vessel Tamahine Teone Taiaroa is winched to safety last year. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery A skipper was distracted by his phone as he steamed towards catastrophe. Teone Martin Taiaroa, 62, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday and admitted his careless actions, which ultimately led to the boat sinking and the dramatic rescue of the bedraggled sailors by helicopter. Court documents reveal he failed to maintain proper lookout and use all means appropriate to determine if the risk of collision existed. The defendant had worked on fishing vessels since 1980 and was qualified to operate the boat, the fishing vessel Tamahine, which he had owned for about seven years. About 6.15am on June 4 last year, Taiaroa was operating his wooden commercial fishing vessel in Taiaroa Head. He had one crew member aboard, who was new to the job, and they left Dunedin heading towards the fishing grounds northeast of the the head. Once out of the shipping channel he set the boat's autopilot to North East, made a coffee and sat at the wheel of the boat reading a news article on his phone. The other crew member was also on his phone, the court heard. Taiaroa admitted grounding the fishing boat which sank off Taiaroa Head. Photo: staff photographer About nine minutes after setting the autopilot, Taiaroa realised the boat was heading south-east rather than its intended course. The vessel was caught in the swells and the defendant engaged manual steering but could not get away from the breakers. The Tamahine grounded just below the Royal Albatross Colony and began to take on water. Taiaroa launched the liferaft and a rescue helicopter was deployed to recover Taiaroa and his crew member. About six hours later, Tamahine sank. The defendant was taken to hospital where he was treated for hypothermia. Taiaroa said the grounding was caused by satellite-compass failure, causing the compass readings to be reversed. The defendant will be sentenced in December.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- NZ Herald
Cabinet paper leak suggests Minister Nicole McKee's U-turn on alcohol sales reform
The draft Cabinet paper says restricting opening hours could have had a major impact on violent crime – preventing 2400 'violent victimisations' each year. But that move has now been axed. A Ministry of Justice email, also leaked to RNZ, shows justice officials 'were directed by Minister McKee to proceed with speed to lodge a revised Cabinet paper' to go before a Cabinet committee on August 13. 'The focus of the paper had changed during negotiations - it is now on reducing regulatory burden with some of the harm reduction measures no longer included - e.g. reducing maximum default trading hours.' McKee told RNZ it was regrettable her draft Cabinet paper was leaked. 'I won't be discussing a few cherry-picked parts of a draft paper through the media before I've even had an opportunity to discuss the issue with my Cabinet colleagues,' she said in a statement to RNZ. 'I am extremely disappointed that a draft Cabinet paper has been shared with media. This undermines the integrity of the public service and erodes New Zealanders' trust in public servants.' 'Strong correlation' between off-licence opening hours and violent crime The leaks show that in an early version of her Cabinet paper, McKee proposed to restrict bottle store opening hours to between 9am and 9pm in a bid to reduce violent crime. 'I am focused on hazardous drinking which can lead to violent crime. Evidence shows a strong correlation between later opening hours for off-licenses and violent crime,' the Cabinet paper originally said. 'Ministry of Justice analysis indicates that bringing forward the closing hour to 9pm could see up to 2400 fewer violent victimisations annually.' The paper said restricting opening hours would reduce sales revenue for off-licences, as about 20% of sales were made between 8pm and 11pm and about 2% before 9am. The paper originally said the impacts on business had been 'weighed carefully' against the benefits of reducing violent crime. But the leaks show this was changed in a later version. 'I am not proposing any changes to the maximum trading hours for license holders,' McKee wrote in the updated paper, noting Auckland and Christchurch had already set a 9pm closing time under their Local Alcohol Policies. 'I consider that this is sufficient to manage concerns around license hours.' Focus now on 'reducing red tape' for law-abiding businesses McKee would not be interviewed by RNZ, but confirmed her reforms would now focus on making it easier for businesses in the alcohol industry. 'My focus is on reducing red tape restricting businesses and New Zealanders who play by the rules. The law Labour left us with is a mess,' she said. The draft Cabinet paper obtained by RNZ shows McKee is now proposing to make it easier for clubs and bars to serve alcohol outside normal trading hours when screening major sport or cultural events. McKee's Cabinet paper also proposes giving the alcohol industry more power when faced with objections to liquor licences. The paper says changes in 2023 allowed any person or group to oppose a liquor licence but that McKee wants to overturn this so objections only come from the community impacted. 'To better balance community voice and impacts on business I seek agreement to only allow objections to licensing applications by people or groups and organisations in the same territorial authority as the premises.' There are also moves to protect businesses impacted by changes to a council's Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) – where communities determine when and how alcohol is sold. 'To protect existing businesses if a LAP is adopted or amended I also seek agreement to prevent a DLC (District Licensing Committee) from declining a renewal application if the license would be inconsistent with the relevant LAP.' The changes would also give applicants for a liquor licence a right of reply to objections received in DLC hearings. Andrew Galloway, executive director of Alcohol Healthwatch, funded by the Ministry of Health, said reducing trading hours for bottle stores and supermarkets would have had a major impact on reducing alcohol harm. 'Off-licences sell over 80% of alcohol in Aotearoa and these off-licences are over-concentrated in the most deprived areas. Restricting off-licence supply of alcohol would be especially important in reducing alcohol-related harm.' Galloway said that when he became aware the Government was looking at restricting off-licence trading hours, he said to his team 'we should prepare for a U-turn' once industry lobbying swung into action. 'We will continue to miss every meaningful opportunity to reduce or prevent alcohol harm in New Zealand if we continue to allow unbridled access to power for harmful commodity industries.' -RNZ
