Court says Tony Gibson did not exercise due diligence in health and safety
The former chief executive officer of Ports of Auckland (POAL) has been fined $130,000 following his guilty conviction in relation to the workplace death of a stevedore in 2020.
Judge Steve Bonnar KC of the Auckland District Court found Tony Gibson guilty of a breach under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, marking the first time in New Zealand that a CEO of a major company has been convicted for failing to meet health and safety obligations in relation to a workplace incident.
The fatal incident involved stevedore Pala’amo Kalati, who had only worked at POAL for a few months, when he died due to an unexpected safety failure.
According to the court, while Kalati and a colleague were working as lashers, a third container was unintentionally lifted by a crane and fell, striking Kalati.
It found that Gibson did not exercise his due diligence responsibly to ensure that the Port complied with its health and safety responsibilities.
"This was a serious departure from the duty of care he should have provided to the workers at the port as the senior officer in charge (the chief executive)," said Kirstie Hewlett, director of Maritime NZ, in a statement.
"Mr Gibson had the knowledge, influence, resources, and opportunity to address safety gaps and ensure that appropriate systems were in place at the port, but failed to do so."
POAL had already been fined over half a million dollars for its role in the incident and had paid voluntary reparation to Kalati's family.
A spokesperson for POAL said the judgment puts the spotlight on safety within organisations.
"This judgment reinforces that safety is everyone's responsibility and should be a focus for everyone, at every level of an organisation," the spokesperson told Stuff.
According to the spokesperson, the company has implemented "significant safety and wellbeing changes." They include:
"While the port has come a long way and seen significant turnaround in safety culture and reduced incidents, we continue to strive to become a safer workplace," the spokesperson said.
