WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The owners of an island volcano in New Zealand where 22 tourists and local guides died in an eruption had their criminal conviction for failing to keep visitors safe thrown out by a judge on Friday.
The ruling absolves the company from paying millions of dollars in restitutions to the families of those bereaved in the 2019 explosion on Whakaari, also known as White Island, and two dozen seriously injured survivors. Most of the 47 people on the island were U.S. and Australian cruise ship passengers on a walking tour, along with their local guides.
The company, Whakaari Management — run by three brothers who own the active volcano on New Zealand’s North Island — appealed their convictions for breaching New Zealand's workplace health and safety law in a three-day hearing last October at the High Court in Auckland. They were found guilty in a 2023 trial.
The case hinged on whether the company — which granted access to the volcano to tourism operators and scientific groups, for a fee — should have been in charge of safety practices on the island under New Zealand’s workplace health and safety laws. Anyone in charge of a workplace must ensure management of hazards and the safety of all there, including at entry and exit points.
Survivors told the trial in emotional testimony during the company’s 2023 trial that they had not been told the active volcano was dangerous when they paid to visit it. They were not supplied with protective equipment, and many were wearing clothing that made their horrific burns more damaging.
In Friday’s written ruling, Justice Simon Moore ruled the company did not have a duty under the relevant law to ensure that the walking tour workplace was without risks to health and safety. He agreed with the company’s lawyers that the firm only granted access to the bare land through permits — and should not have been legally considered an entity that managed or controlled the workplace.
The judge ruled it wasn't unreasonable for the company to rely on tourism operators — who were licensed under New Zealand law — and emergency management and scientific agencies to assess the risks of activities on the island and manage safety precautions.
The case had far-reaching implications and changed the laws governing New Zealand’s adventure tourism industry, which is often based around outdoor thrills on or around the country’s many natural hazards. Operators must now take all reasonable steps to inform customers of any serious risks.
The lawyers for the company said during last October’s hearing that if the conviction was allowed to stand, it would make other landowners reluctant to allow such activities to take place on their property for fear of being held responsible for the day-to-day decisions of tourism businesses operating on it — a suggestion rejected by the New Zealand's workplace safety regulator, which brought the charges.
Justice Moore said in Friday's ruling that a too narrow or broad interpretation of the law governing who controls a workplace could have “profound” consequences.
White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Māori name Whakaari, was a popular tourist destination before the eruption and was reached by boat or helicopter from the North Island’s Bay of Plenty. When the superheated steam blew in December 2019, it killed some instantly and left others with agonizing burns.
The workplace safety regulator brought charges against a number of parties — including the company run by Andrew, Peter and James Buttle.
Six entities pleaded guilty in 2022 and 2023 to the charges they faced, including five tour companies and New Zealand's geoscience research institute, which monitors active volcanoes.
Charges were dismissed against the Buttle brothers individually, along with two tourism logistics firms and the government emergency management agency.
In March, those convicted were ordered to pay a combined total of just over 10 million New Zealand dollars ($5.6 million) in restitutions to the bereaved families and survivors. Almost half of that was due to be paid by Whakaari Management Limited.
The company filed its appeal the same month.
In his ruling, Justice Moore said he had not overlooked or minimized the “unquantifiable tragedy” of the episode.
"The 47 people who were on Whakaari at the time it erupted should never have been there," he wrote. The fact that they were revealed “multiple systemic failures."
The case, however, was decided on the particular law and facts and boiled down to relatively narrow legal questions, he added.
FILE - In this photo provided by Michael Schade, tourists on a boat look at the eruption of the volcano on White Island, New Zealand, Dec. 9, 2019. (Michael Schade via AP, File)
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to trigger the process for an early parliamentary election this weekend for an expected vote on April 28.
The election will take place against the backdrop of a trade war and sovereignty threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war. Trump has repeatedly said that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state and he acknowledged Friday that he has totally upended Canadian politics.
What Trump hasn't said is that the almost daily attacks on Canada's sovereignty have infuriated Canadians, who are canceling trips south of the border and avoiding buying American goods when they can. The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered Liberal poll numbers.
The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. But after decades of bilateral stability, the vote is now expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with the United States.
Carney will visit Governor-General Mary Simon on Sunday and request to dissolve Parliament, a government official who wasn’t authorized to publicly give details so spoke on condition of anonymity on Thursday.
Requests by the prime minister to the governor-general are rubber-stamped. Simon’s office holds a constitutional and ceremonial role as the representative of Canada’s head of state, U.K. King Charles III. Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.
An election campaign lasting about five weeks will then officially begin.
People throughout Canada will elect all 338 member of the House of Commons, one for each constituency. There are no primaries or runoffs, just a single round of voting.
Canada is like Britain in that uses a “first past the post” system of voting, which means that the candidate that finishes top in each constituency will be elected, even if they don’t get 50% of the vote.
This has generally cemented the dominance of the two largest parties, the Liberals and Conservatives, because it's difficult for smaller parties to win seats unless they have concentrated support in particular areas.
The party that commands a majority in the House of Commons, either alone or with the support of another party, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.
Carney replaced Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January, but remained in power until the Liberal Party elected a new leader on March 9 following a leadership race by the governing Liberal Party.
He was sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister on March 14. Carney said Thursday in this time of crisis that the government needs a strong and clear mandate.
Carney, 60, is among the two main candidates. He navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada and when in 2013 he became the first noncitizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694.
His appointment won bipartisan praise in the U.K. after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries.
A highly educated economist with Wall Street experience, Carney worked for 13 years for Goldman Sachs in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before being appointed deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. He has both financial industry and public service credentials.
Carney still hasn’t had a phone call with Trump yet. He has said that he’s ready to meet with Trump, if he shows respect for Canadian sovereignty.
Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservatives, is Carney's main challenger. The party and Poilievre were heading for a huge victory in Canada’s federal election this year until Trump’s near-daily trade and annexation threats derailed them.
Poilievre, 45, for years the party’s go-to attack dog, is a career politician and firebrand populist who says he will put “Canada first.” He attacks the mainstream media and vows to defund Canada’s public broadcaster. His party announced that it won't allow media onboard his campaign buses and planes.
“President Trump’s tariffs and his rhetoric about Canada becoming the 51st state have clearly helped the Liberals in the polls while putting the Conservatives in an odd position, as their rhetoric exhibits some similarities with Trump’s and a significant minority of their supporters like the President’s populist style and ideas," said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.
Poilievre has said he will stand up to Trump.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addresses the crowd at Pioneer Construction in Sudbury, Ont. on Wednesday March 19, 2025. (Gino Donato /The Canadian Press via AP)
Mark Carney, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, speaks after being announced the winner at the Liberal Leadership Event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick /The Canadian Press via AP)
