The company, owned by the Buttle brothers who inherited White Island, had been licensing various businesses to conduct tours on the active volcano.
Judge Evangelos Thomas determined that Whakaari Management Limited had “managed and controlled” the volcano as a workplace and had failed to sufficiently minimize the risks associated with it. The judge emphasized that the company should have sought expert advice to assess the risks of conducting commercial tours on an active volcano. The interaction between the company and GNS Science, New Zealand’s volcano monitor, was deemed insufficient and lacking in structure and completeness.
However, a second charge against Whakaari Management Limited, related to the safety of its own employees, was dismissed by the judge.
Meredith Dallow, whose brother Gavin was among the victims of the eruption, expressed her relief at the verdict, stating that it was “justice at long last.” She criticized the company for not accepting responsibility and described the trial as an emotional journey.
Previously, charges against the volcano’s three owners, James, Andrew, and Peter Buttle, were dismissed in September. This trial, initiated by New Zealand’s regulator Worksafe NZ, was the most extensive of its kind. Out of the 13 parties prosecuted, six pleaded guilty before the trial, six had their charges dismissed, and Whakaari Management Limited was found guilty on one charge.
The sentencing is scheduled for February, with the maximum penalty for an organization being a fine of $NZ1.5 million ($1.3 million). The eruption resulted in the tragic loss of 22 lives, including 17 Australians.