Latest news with #WML
NZ Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Waste Management employee in Wellington allowed customer to pay for commercial rubbish dump with beer
According to the ERA's determination on the matter, management at WML first believed something was amiss when they heard a team member, under Houkamau's supervision, was at the site on weekends when not rostered on. This prompted them to review CCTV footage and found an employee removing scrap metal and taking it off-site, allowing a van to dump rubbish without paying and other employees dumping their personal rubbish. Further analysis showed a customer vehicle stopping beside Houkamau's car and unloading boxes into it. Footage from later in the day showed another employee taking beer from the car and loading it into his own vehicle. WML found, through the footage, that this happened on multiple occasions with the same customer. It was discovered that the customer had visited the dump on 74 occasions and had not paid to dump its commercial rubbish on 71 of those visits. The company conservatively estimated that $111,091.54 worth of rubbish had not been paid for. WML then commenced an investigation, which included interviewing four other employees potentially involved, who all went on to admit to scavenging from the site, vaping on-site and dumping personal waste without paying, all prohibited actions. The customer paying with beer admitted to WML they'd had an arrangement with Houkamau since 2022. WML tried to recover the levies the company owed under the Companies Act but only secured $10,000. WML then sent a letter to Houkamau outlining its allegations and informing her it believed she was in breach of her employment obligations. Houkamau hired a lawyer, who was provided with the CCTV footage and other supporting evidence. She denied the allegations and said the CCTV footage failed to establish the validity of what she was accused of. Houkamau argued there was no evidence of any 'off-the-books' deals. WML advised Houkamau would be dismissed from her employment, to which her lawyer responded by putting the company 'on notice' and stated they would raise a personal grievance. Houkamau was fired and went on to raise her grievance with the ERA. In the recently released determination, ERA member Davinnia Tan dismissed Houkamau's grievance and, in part, granted WML's counterclaim to recover some of the money it had lost. 'The CCTV footage presented a strong case against Ms Houkamau for the allegation that she was responsible, or at least had knowledge of the arrangement with [the customer], to allow free disposal of commercial waste, in exchange for boxes of free alcohol given to her and the team at the site,' Tan said. 'Based on the footage alone, I considered it was more likely than not that Ms Houkamau was aware of [the customer] arriving and depositing alcohol on site in her car, and employees removing alcohol from her car for their personal use/consumption.' Tan said Houkamau could not credibly refute the CCTV footage and her explanation 'lacked substance'. She had claimed that in the footage where the beer was visible, that she had questioned the employee about it and said he told her a 'mate left them' for him to pick up and that as it was 'nearing the end of day' that employee was taking the alcohol home without consuming it on the premises. Tan found WML had conducted a thorough investigation and communicated with Houkamau at every step. However, while WML was seeking $100,000 from Houkamau, Tan ruled it was unlikely she could repay that amount. Instead, Houkamau was ordered to pay $4000 to the company, and $2000 to the Crown. WML said it couldn't comment on the ruling. Houkamau has been approached for comment.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
Volcano owners' conviction over deadly eruption thrown out
The owners of a New Zealand volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, have had their conviction over the disaster thrown out by the country's High Court. Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was found guilty in 2023 of failing to keep visitors safe and fined just over NZ$1m ($560,000; £445,000). They were also ordered to pay NZ$4.8m in reparation to the victims. However, following an appeal, the High Court ruled on Friday that the company only owned the land and were not responsible for people's safety. White Island, which is also known by its Māori name, Whakaari, is New Zealand's most active volcano and has been erupting in some form since 2011. It had been showing signs of heightened unrest for weeks before the fatal December 2019 eruption, which killed almost half of the people who were on it at the time. Most were tourists, including 17 from Australia and three from the US. Another 25 people were injured, with many suffering extensive burns. High Court Justice Simon Moore said on Friday that while WML licensed tours of the volcano, there was nothing in these agreements that gave the company control of what was happening on the island day to day. He agreed that it was reasonable for the company to rely on tour operators, as well as emergency management and science organisations, to assess risks to safety. Justice Moore added that, in coming to his decision, he had not ignored the pain and grief of the families that had been affected. "It is impossible not to be deeply moved and affected by the sheer scale and nature of the human loss in this case," he said. Thirteen parties in total, including tour operators, were charged over the disaster. WML was the last to receive a verdict after six had pleaded guilty, while six more had their charges dismissed. The case against WML was the largest action of its kind brought by New Zealand's regulator, Worksafe NZ, who said it acknowledged the High Court ruling and was considering whether to appeal. James Cairney, a lawyer for James, Andrew and Peter Buttle - three brothers who own the company - said the family welcomed the decision, Radio New Zealand reported. He added that the Buttles hoped it would "bring certainty for all landowners who grant others recreational access to their land". The Buttle family has owned Whakaari/White Island since the 1930s, when their grandfather bought it and placed it in a family trust. It is one of only a few privately owned islands in New Zealand. The brothers had previously been on trial in relation to the 2019 disaster as individuals over alleged breaches of New Zealand's workplace health and safety legislation. Those charges were dismissed in 2023. Millions awarded to White Island volcano victims Company found guilty over NZ volcano disaster
BBC News
28-02-2025
- BBC News
Volcano owners' conviction over deadly eruption thrown out
The owners of a New Zealand volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, have had their conviction over the disaster thrown out by the country's High Court. Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was found guilty in 2023 of failing to keep visitors safe and fined just over NZ$1m ($560,000; £445,000). They were also ordered to pay NZ$4.8m in reparation to the victims. However, following an appeal, the High Court ruled on Friday that the company only owned the land and were not responsible for people's safety. White Island, which is also known by its Māori name, Whakaari, is New Zealand's most active volcano and has been erupting in some form since 2011. It had been showing signs of heightened unrest for weeks before the fatal December 2019 eruption, which killed almost half of the people who were on it at the time. Most were tourists, including 17 from Australia and three from the US. Another 25 people were injured, with many suffering extensive burns. High Court Justice Simon Moore said on Friday that while WML licensed tours of the volcano, there was nothing in these agreements that gave the company control of what was happening on the island day to day. He agreed that it was reasonable for the company to rely on tour operators, as well as emergency management and science organisations, to assess risks to safety. Justice Moore added that, in coming to his decision, he had not ignored the pain and grief of the families that had been affected. "It is impossible not to be deeply moved and affected by the sheer scale and nature of the human loss in this case," he said. Thirteen parties in total, including tour operators, were charged over the disaster. WML was the last to receive a verdict after six had pleaded guilty, while six more had their charges dismissed. The case against WML was the largest action of its kind brought by New Zealand's regulator, Worksafe NZ, who said it acknowledged the High Court ruling and was considering whether to appeal. James Cairney, a lawyer for James, Andrew and Peter Buttle - three brothers who own the company - said the family welcomed the decision, Radio New Zealand reported. He added that the Buttles hoped it would "bring certainty for all landowners who grant others recreational access to their land". The Buttle family has owned Whakaari/White Island since the 1930s, when their grandfather bought it and placed it in a family trust. It is one of only a few privately owned islands in New Zealand. The brothers had previously been on trial in relation to the 2019 disaster as individuals over alleged breaches of New Zealand's workplace health and safety legislation. Those charges were dismissed in 2023.
Saudi Gazette
28-02-2025
- Saudi Gazette
Volcano owners' conviction over deadly eruption thrown out
WELLINGTON — The owners of a New Zealand volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, have had their conviction over the disaster thrown out by the country's High Court. Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was found guilty in 2023 of failing to keep visitors safe and fined just over NZ$1m ($560,000; £445,000). They were also ordered to pay NZ$4.8m in reparation to the victims. However, following an appeal, the High Court ruled on Friday that the company only owned the land and were not responsible for people's safety. White Island, which is also known by its Māori name, Whakaari, is New Zealand's most active volcano and has been erupting in some form since 2011. It had been showing signs of heightened unrest for weeks before the fatal December 2019 eruption, which killed almost half of the people who were on it at the time. Most were tourists, including 17 from Australia and three from the US. Another 25 people were injured, with many suffering extensive burns. High Court Justice Simon Moore said on Friday that while WML licensed tours of the volcano, there was nothing in these agreements that gave the company control of what was happening on the island day to day. He agreed that it was reasonable for the company to rely on tour operators, as well as emergency management and science organizations, to assess risks to safety. Justice Moore added that, in coming to his decision, he had not ignored the pain and grief of the families that had been affected. "It is impossible not to be deeply moved and affected by the sheer scale and nature of the human loss in this case," he said. Thirteen parties in total, including tour operators, were charged over the disaster. WML was the last to receive a verdict after six had pleaded guilty, while six more had their charges dismissed. The case against WML was the largest action of its kind brought by New Zealand's regulator, Worksafe NZ, who said it acknowledged the High Court ruling and was considering whether to appeal. James Cairney, a lawyer for James, Andrew and Peter Buttle - three brothers who own the company - said the family welcomed the decision, Radio New Zealand reported. He added that the Buttles hoped it would "bring certainty for all landowners who grant others recreational access to their land". The Buttle family has owned Whakaari/White Island since the 1930s, when their grandfather bought it and placed it in a family trust. It is one of only a few privately owned islands in New Zealand. The brothers had previously been on trial in relation to the 2019 disaster as individuals over alleged breaches of New Zealand's workplace health and safety legislation. Those charges were dismissed in 2023. — BBC
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
Volcano owners' conviction over deadly eruption thrown out
The owners of a New Zealand volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, have had their conviction over the disaster thrown out by the country's High Court. Whakaari Management Limited (WML) was found guilty in 2023 of failing to keep visitors safe and fined just over NZ$1m ($560,000; £445,000). They were also ordered to pay NZ$4.8m in reparation to the victims. However, following an appeal, the High Court ruled on Friday that the company only owned the land and were not responsible for people's safety. White Island, which is also known by its Māori name, Whakaari, is New Zealand's most active volcano and has been erupting in some form since 2011. It had been showing signs of heightened unrest for weeks before the fatal December 2019 eruption, which killed almost half of the people who were on it at the time. Most were tourists, including 17 from Australia and three from the US. Another 25 people were injured, with many suffering extensive burns. High Court Justice Simon Moore said on Friday that while WML licensed tours of the volcano, there was nothing in these agreements that gave the company control of what was happening on the island day to day. He agreed that it was reasonable for the company to rely on tour operators, as well as emergency management and science organisations, to assess risks to safety. Justice Moore added that, in coming to his decision, he had not ignored the pain and grief of the families that had been affected. "It is impossible not to be deeply moved and affected by the sheer scale and nature of the human loss in this case," he said. Thirteen parties in total, including tour operators, were charged over the disaster. WML was the last to receive a verdict after six had pleaded guilty, while six more had their charges dismissed. The case against WML was the largest action of its kind brought by New Zealand's regulator, Worksafe NZ, who said it acknowledged the High Court ruling and was considering whether to appeal. James Cairney, a lawyer for James, Andrew and Peter Buttle - three brothers who own the company - said the family welcomed the decision, Radio New Zealand reported. He added that the Buttles hoped it would "bring certainty for all landowners who grant others recreational access to their land". The Buttle family has owned Whakaari/White Island since the 1930s, when their grandfather bought it and placed it in a family trust. It is one of only a few privately owned islands in New Zealand. The brothers had previously been on trial in relation to the 2019 disaster as individuals over alleged breaches of New Zealand's workplace health and safety legislation. Those charges were dismissed in 2023. Millions awarded to White Island volcano victims Company found guilty over NZ volcano disaster
