Govt falls short in adventure tourism audit

  • Breaking
  • 17/03/2015

The father of a man killed in a skydiving plane crash says safety levels in adventure tourism haven't improved, despite the Prime Minister's promise to lift standards.

The Government has failed to meet its own target for auditing the adventure tourism industry.

It was supposed to be the experience of a lifetime – skydiving Fox Glacier. But Chris Coker's son, Bradley, was one of nine killed in the 2010 crash.

"I want justice," says Mr Coker. "I want to see that he and all the other people on that airplane and the Carterton air disaster, whether they all died for nothing, and nobody's taking any notice in New Zealand."

The Prime Minister promised he was taking notice in a personal pledge in 2009 to lift industry standards.

"It's incumbent on me as Minister of Tourism and Prime Minister to protect New Zealand's international reputation," said John Key.

All adventure tourism operators were to be investigated. If they passed muster they'd be registered under new regulations.

The Government expected 500 to be audited and registered by last November's deadline. But just 287 operators have been, and 342 have managed to avoid registration altogether and are still operating.

"You're now telling the world: 'By our own standards, we are unsafe,'" says Mr Coker.

Those that have escaped the new regulations include some the most obvious adventure sports – bungee jumping and jet ski operators. But WorkSafe New Zealand says they don't count because they're not defined as adventure activities and are covered by other laws.

"If you fall under another set of regulations, such as the Civil Aviation regulations, you'd be captured by them," says Brett Murray of Worksafe. "We're not trying to duplicate the system."

Skydiving operators are also exempt, which includes the company that took over after the Fox Glacier crash.

"The figures are being massaged and pushed around from pillar to post," says Mr Coker. "Unfortunately Mr Key, you are failing."

Early last year 3 News revealed the plan to register all operators was already under threat; the company tasked with the job couldn't keep up with audits.

Back then WorkSafe insisted it would still meet the deadline, but to get there it used a workaround, striking hundreds of operators off the list.

3 News

source: newshub archive