THE NEW Zealand High Court has dismissed an appeal by former Ports of Auckland Ltd chief executive Tony Gibson against his November 2024 conviction and subsequent fine under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Mr Gibson was found guilty of one HSW charge, after stevedore Pala'amo Kalati was killed in August 2020 when struck by a container while working on vessel Constantinos P at the Fergusson terminal.
This was the first time in NZ an officer of a large company had been convicted of a breach of their due diligence duty. The total penalties included a NZ$130,000 fine and an additional $60,000 payment to Maritime New Zealand, which laid the charges. The Judge’s decision was seen as one that clarified legislative health and safety obligations for officers of large companies.
MNZ also brought charges against POAL, which was convicted and fined NZ$500,000 in December 2023.
The High Court’s decision to disallow Mr Gibson’s appeal was welcomed by the Maritime Union of New Zealand national secretary Carl Findlay sayings that while the legal outcome was a crucial step forward for workplace safety, the human cost must be remembered.
“At the heart of this case is an entirely preventable loss of life,” Mr Findlay said.
“This verdict is a vindication for workers who have long warned about systemic safety failures on our waterfronts, but it does not bring back a lost workmate, father, and friend.”
MUNZ commended MNZ for its commitment to pursuing the prosecution, saying the court’s findings confirmed that Mr Gibson had the knowledge, influence, and resources to address critical safety gaps at the port yet failed to exercise his due diligence to do so.
Mr Findlay said MUNZ will now pursue the introduction of corporate manslaughter laws in NZ: “When executive failures directly result in a worker's death, senior managers and directors must face the very real outcome of criminal liability and imprisonment.”
Mr Gibson, who was previously P&O Nedlloyd’s NZ chief and subsequently that of Maersk Line NZ following the latter’s takeover of the former in 2005, joined POAL in 2011 and left in 2021. In 2022 MNZ charged him with two counts of breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015, to which Mr Gibson pleaded not guilty. The lengthy trial began in April 2024.