'We should've been there' says the WorkSafe investigator for deceased forestry worker Jason Rawiri and his family in a recorded conversation.
Grieving relatives of a forestry worker killed in a Gisborne logging accident are furious to learn no one will face prosecution in connection with the beloved 42-year-old’s death, describing the decision as “bloody wrong”.
WorkSafe says key witnesses who were present when Jason Rawiri was hit by a falling treenearly a year ago on October 14 have refused to co-operate with investigators and there is “insufficient evidence” to lay charges.
The watchdog says health and safety practices of the two forestry businesses involved - McIndoe Logging and Forest Management NZ - “aligned with industry standards” and an expert believes the fatality was an “unfortunate accident”.
Rawiri’s whānau learned of the decision on Thursday and said they feel angry, empty and upset.
“It’s just bloody wrong that these people are allowed to pretty much sweep everything away and carry on,” Rawiri’s brother-in-law Mike Baker told the Herald.
“Clearly, if there was to be any action now you’d have to take a private prosecution. How many millions is that going to cost?”
Rawiri - known as “Base” - had just finished his shift when he was struck by the tree at Ngātapa, a short drive from Gisborne city. He died at the scene.
WorkSafe copped intense criticism for not sending a specialist investigator on the day of the tragedy, instead leaving police to secure the site, speak to witnesses and take scene photographs.
The Government demanded an explanation from WorkSafe following Herald coverage, while Rawiri’s family said failing to send an investigator was an insult to the experienced forestry worker’s memory and unacceptable given the industry’s high death rate.
In June, the Herald obtained a recording of a meeting between WorkSafe investigator Ben Mitchell-Allam and Rawiri’s family in which Mitchell-Allam said not attending the accident site had severely compromised the WorkSafe probe.
The refusal of key witnesses to speak had also resulted in a lack of evidence that he warned could undermine the chance of a successful prosecution.
“It’s impossible to go and investigate to the full extent of our ability because we didn’t go to the scene, I just don’t have the information I need,” Mitchell-Allam told the family.
“It’s really hard for me because I’ve got nothing to go on. I’m relying on information from the very people who may get prosecuted. There’s no getting away from the fact that we should have been there.”
Jason Rawiri died in a forestry accident near Gisborne on October 14, 2022, aged 42.
Rawiri’s sister Bubba Baker told the Herald she was “gutted” no one would be held accountable for her brother’s death and that people with knowledge of the accident had chosen to remain silent.
The family planned to mark the anniversary of his passing this Saturday by unveiling his headstone at the Taupiri cemetery where he is buried.
Bubba said she missed her brother “every day” and was frustrated no one would face charges.
“I just feel like Jason’s life was taken, they removed the body and went back to work.”
Rawiri’s wife Carol said she still had questions about her husband’s death but had to accept WorkSafe’s findings.
“It was obvious they weren’t getting traction on anything. They’ve got nothing to go on.”
She was concerned that WorkSafe allowed the accident site to be cleared just days after the tragedy so logging work could resume, destroying important evidence.
Carol believed the investigator had done the “best with what he was given”. She had asked for the concerns expressed in the recording to be made clear to the Coroner who would now decide whether to open an inquest.
“I needed that impressed that the investigator was stymied by his superior’s ill judgement at national level.”
And while she may never know exactly what happened that day, the fact no one was facing criminal charges suggested her husband had at least worked in a “safe” environment before the accident, which gave her “some solace”.
WorkSafe’s head of specialist interventions Dr Catherine Gardnerexpressed the agency’s profound sympathy to Rawiri’s whānau.
An independent expert who visited the worksite identified several possible causes for the accident, including a digger striking the tree that fell on Rawiri, but Gardner said the exact cause “may never be known”.
Both companies co-operated fully with the investigation and their health and safety processes met the forestry sector’s approved code of practices.
“Our expert has over four decades of forestry experience, and in his view, this fatality was an unfortunate accident. Without expert opinion that the businesses failed to take reasonably practicable actions, there is insufficient evidence to prosecute. We acknowledge this is not the outcome the whānau was hoping for.”
Gardner said several key witnesses “declined to engage” with WorkSafe’s investigation.
“While we would have appreciated their input, we cannot compel people to speak to us. We accept they are traumatised by the death and have suffered just like the whānau, so we need to be respectful of them.”
WorkSafe stood by the decision to have police conduct the initial scene examination on WorkSafe’s behalf. Police routinely led scene examinations and were highly experienced and capable.
“WorkSafe investigators were in touch with police throughout. This incident occurred 2km into dense bush, and the nearest qualified WorkSafe investigator was in Napier at the time of the incident. We endeavour to attend all scene examinations immediately but do not always have the necessary operational resources available or located nearby.”
Holding the scene overnight for WorkSafe staff to arrive could have put evidence at risk from bad weather, delaying a scene examination and the return of Rawiri’s body to whānau, Gardner said.
“We believe the approach we took was pragmatic in the circumstances.”
