Court Summary - at a glance

Date of offence:
26 January 2021
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Decision:
Convicted
 
Final decision date:
 
Fine imposed:
Egmont Logging Limited – imposed $0 due to financial incapacity.
Farman Turkington Forestry Limited – court-ordered enforceable undertaking (EU).

Safety lessons learned:

Egmont Logging Limited (ELL) was found guilty on a separate charge in the following terms: Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, including Steven Whare, while the workers are at work in the business or undertaking, namely tree harvesting using machine assisted felling (MAF), did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed the workers to risk of death or serious injury.

The Court found it was reasonably practicable for ELL to have a:

  1. Safe system of work for MAF ensuring as best it reasonably could that there was a fact specific and documented risk assessment undertaken to assess the safe retreat distance
  2. System of Monitoring the MAF work.


Farman Turkington Forestry Limited (FTFL) plead guilty to a charge that: Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, while the workers are at work in the business or undertaking, namely tree harvesting using machine assisted felling, did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed Egmont Logging Limited (ELL) harvest workers, including Stephen Whare, to risk of death or serious injury.

Particulars: It was reasonably practicable for FTFL to have:

  1. Verified that ELL workers who undertook and/or supervised machine assisted felling (MAF), including Mr Whare, either held appropriate formal qualifications or had been “deemed competent” for the task (the latter being the result of a detailed and documented training/assessment process).
  2. Ensured that ELL’s safe system of work for MAF included requirements for fellers to
    1. conduct and document a MAF specific risk assessment that identified applicable significant hazards, including the increase in energy due to machine use, intertwined branches, close planting, and any species-specific issues (Applicable Hazards), and
    2. determine appropriate control measures, including whether a retreat distance of more than 5 metres is necessary.

Defendant name:
Egmont Logging Limited (in liquidation)
 
Industry:
Forestry
 
Date of offence:
26 January 2021
 
Facts in brief:
The victim was employed by Egmont. At the time of the incident the victim was completing tree felling operation when a tree fell on him in the small rural area of Tuinui, Masterton.
 
Offence section:
Sections 36(1)(a), 48(1) and 48(2)(c) of HSWA
 
Date(s) charged:
20 January 2022

Court:
Masterton - District Court
 
Plea:
Guilty
 
Final decision date:
 
Decision:
Convicted
 
Fine imposed:
Egmont Logging Limited – imposed $0 due to financial incapacity.
Farman Turkington Forestry Limited – court-ordered enforceable undertaking (EU).
 
Maximum fine available:
$1.5 million
 
Reparation:
Emotional harm
Total $150,000 but split to individuals. Apportioned:
Egmont Logging Limited – 40%
Farman Turkington Forestry Limited – 60%

Consequential loss – Nil

Costs
Egmont Logging Limited – None, no insurance to pay costs.
Farman Turkington Forestry Limited – $2,905.19 legal costs. This was 30% of the total legal costs.