Owners of New Zealand volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, are appealing conviction

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The owners of an island volcano in New Zealand that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, appealed their criminal conviction on Tuesday for violating safety laws, arguing that tour operators – and not their company – were responsible for the safety of visitors, also known as Whakaari as the White Island.

Whakaari Management, a company owned by brothers Andrew, Peter and James Buttle, was found guilty last October after New Zealand's workplace safety regulator failed to protect visitors to the island. It was ordered to pay millions of dollars in fines and compensation to the victims of the volcanic eruption, who were tourists from a cruise ship and their local guides.

The company appealed in March. On Tuesday, lawyer Rachael Reed told the Supreme Court in Auckland that the trial judge erred when he ruled that the volcano's owners were legally the managers or controllers of a workplace – and therefore responsible for health and safety risks for everyone present.

The company was simply providing access to the volcano, Reed said, and expected tour operators to ensure the safety of tourists there.

“Like any landowner, it had the opportunity to, and did, grant the right to access the land through licenses. That’s what it did,” she told the court, referring to the company. “The tours were not carried out. It neither directed nor supervised the tours.”

White Island, the top of an underwater volcano also known by its Māori name Whakaari, was a popular tourist destination before the eruption. There were 47 tourists and tour guides – mostly from the US and Australia – on the island when superheated steam rose, killing some people instantly and leaving others with painful burns.

The disaster drew attention to the natural hazards facing much of New Zealand's adventure tourism industry and led to stricter laws for tour operators after eruption survivors said they were not informed before their guided hike to the crater that the active volcano was dangerous be.

After a three-month trial last year, a judge found the company guilty of health and safety failings in the period leading up to the outbreak. In his ruling, Judge Evangelos Thomas said Whakaari's management had failed to carry out a risk assessment despite knowing of an outbreak three years ago.

Judge Thomas said the company should have sought expert advice about the dangers and either stopped the tours altogether or introduced controls. He dismissed a second charge against the company.

The New Zealand Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate has brought charges against 13 organizations and individuals, including the owner's company. Some pleaded guilty, including three companies that operated helicopter tours, one that operated boat tours, a tour operator and New Zealand science agency GNS Science. Charges against others were dropped.

In the three-day appeal this week, Judge Simon Moore is expected to hear further submissions from lawyers for Whakaari Management before the regulator makes arguments. Moore told the court that for the appeal to succeed, any error found by the trial judge would have to rise to the level of a miscarriage of justice.