Former Port of Auckland (POAL) boss Tony Gibson maintained health and safety was a “core part” of the business under his watch as he defended his record in court today.
The 69-year-old is on trial in the District Court at Auckland over two charges related to the death of 31-year-old Pala’amo Kalati while working at the port in August 2020.
The stevedore, a father-of-seven, was working a night shift when a container fell on top of him, killing him. A Maritime NZ investigation led to several charges being laid against the company, and Gibson who was chief executive at the time.
POAL pleaded guilty, and was fined more than $500,000. Gibson pleaded not guilty on all charges and his trial before the judge began in early May.
On his first day of giving evidence he told the judge that health and safety was a key priority of the business.
“Core to our business was being safe,” he said. “Every department, every department head and every person in the organization had a health and safety obligation.”
The Maritime NZ prosecution is the first of its kind against a chief executive related to a work place death. It comes under health and safety laws that were put in place following the Pike River mine disaster, designed to ensure senior staff could be held to account when workers were exposed to serious risk of injury or death.
The judge-only trial is expected to continue for another two weeks. The charges carry a combined maximum penalty of $400,000.
