Judge dismisses charges against brothers who own Whakaari White Island

The three brothers who own Whakaari White Island have had the individual charges against them dismissed in an Auckland Court.

Andrew, James and Peter Buttle - who inherited the island and own it through a family trust - had been individually charged under New Zealand health and safety law with failing to adequately understand and manage the risks of allowing tours to White Island. The Island’s volcano which erupted in December 2019 killing 22 people and seriously injured 25 others.

However, the charges brought by Worksafe NZ were dismissed today in the Auckland District Court two months into the trial.

Worksafe NZ argued the brothers, as directors of their company Whakaari Management Limited (WML), failed to ensure an expert risk assessment.

With the brothers each pleading not guilty, their defence lawyer James Cairney argued the prosecution had not done enough to prove the charge against each individual.

Judge Evangelos Thomas agreed, advising “tere is no evidence in this case as to what happened behind the boardroom door at WML. Without that evidence I cannot assess what a reasonable director would have done."

Worksafe NZ concluded its prosecution last week, before the Buttles lodged an application to have charges against the individual brothers dismissed.

That application was granted today.

While charges against the individuals have been dismissed, the trial over their company WML's involvement continues.

13 parties were charged as part of this case, including the three Buttle brothers, their company WML, the tour operator White Island Tours, several other tourism companies as well as New Zealand's volcano monitor GNS Science and National Emergency Management Agency.

The Buttles and WML pleaded not guilty, as did two other tourism companies - ID Tours NZ and Tauranga Tourism Services - that are also on trial.

The companies face maximum fines of $1.5 million if found guilty.

The Court is due to hear applications from ID Tours NZ and Tauranga Tourism Services to have charges against them dismissed tomorrow.

Five other parties, including tour operators, have pleaded guilty and are yet to be sentenced. The National Emergency Management Agency pleaded not guilty before applying to have charges against it dismissed and was successful.

When the criminal charges were laid in 2020, the WorkSafe NZ Chief Executive Phil Parkes said they were the result of the most extensive and complex investigation ever undertaken by the agency.