Former Ports of Auckland chief found guilty over Samoan Father of 7's death
The High Court has dismissed an appeal from a former Ports of Auckland chief executive who was found guilty in relation to the death of a worker.
A stevedore, Pala'amo Kalati, aged 31, was killed by a falling container in August 2020.
Tony Gibson was then prosecuted by Maritime New Zealand under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The maritime watchdog filed charges accusing Gibson of breaching his duties as an officer and making decisions which jeopardised the safety of port workers.
He was found guilty after a trial in the Auckland District Court in 2024, fined $130,000 and ordered to pay a further $60,000 in legal costs.
The High Court has now upheld the verdict and the sentence.
Maritime New Zealand Director Kirstie Hewlett said she was pleased to see the High Court reinforced that Gibson did not exercise his due diligence responsibility to ensure the port complied with its health and safety obligations
The case is part of a wider pattern of safety issues at the port, including several serious incidents and deaths.
It followed Ports of Auckland admitting a health and safety charge over the 2018 death of crane driver Laboom Dyer, and another fatal incident in 2017. A review later found safety had been put behind productivity, with wider system problems.
Kalati’s death in 2020 deeply affected workers and Pacific families in New Zealand, especially those in high-risk port jobs.
Kirstie Hewlett stated "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," she said.
Hewlett hoped the case would warn other chief executives to ensure their health and safety obligations were met.
"They need to understand the critical risks at their businesses, assure themselves through reliable sources that there are controls and systems in place, and verify that these controls and systems are working effectively to improve safety."
Via RNZ