By JOHN ARMSTRONG political editor
Government departments that breach health and safety rules and building laws will face fines of up to $200,000 after Parliament writes the final legal chapter arising from the Cave Creek tragedy.
Legislation tabled yesterday fulfils the outstanding recommendation of the inquiry, which is that Government departments lose immunity from prosecution for breaches of health and safety and building codes.
The law change, which will not be retrospective, is being introduced as survivors and the victims' families prepare to mark the sixth anniversary of the tragedy.
Thirteen students and a Conservation Department officer died when a viewing platform collapsed in the Paparoa National Park on the West Coast on April 28, 1995.
Until now, the Crown has been exempt from the Building Act and the Health and Safety Act .
While departments have always had to comply with these laws, there has been no power to prosecute in cases of non-compliance.
Recommendations arising from Judge Graeme Noble's report included removing Crown immunity from prosecution.
The legislation is seen as establishing a policy precedent for Crown criminal liability, making Government departments and other crown entities subject to substantially the same procedures and penalties that apply to private sector organisations.
Any penalties - the maximums vary from $10,000 to $200,000 depending on the offence - will have to be paid out of the department's own funds.
Justice Minister Phil Goff said the Government strongly believed its own departments should not be exempt from laws that every other New Zealand business had to abide by.
"The removal of the exemption from prosecution will significantly increase the incentives for Government departments to comply with the legislation and provide greater accountability if a breach does occur."
Under the bill, however, Government employees, including chief executives, will not be personally liable and departments as a whole will be treated as having committed the offence.
Conservation Minister Sandra Lee said the legislation fulfilled a commitment she made to the victims' parents at last year's anniversary.
"The Government must honour the memory of those who died by ensuring that such a tragedy is never repeated."
She will represent the Government at a memorial service at the Tai Poutini Polytech in Greymouth on April 27 to mark the anniversary of the tragedy.
New law closes book on Cave Creek
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