Victims of the Ashburton Work and Income shooting and their families could be in line to receive payouts after one Crown agency took the unusual step of prosecuting another.
WorkSafe NZ yesterday filed a charge against the Ministry of Social Development over the shootings last September in which two people died and a third was badly injured.
The charge, under Section 6 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act, alleges the ministry failed to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of its employees while at work.
It is usually accompanied by a maximum $250,000 fine. However given Work and Income is a government agency, the fine does not apply. Reparation to victims and their families may be ordered by the court.
The charge was laid in the Wellington District Court following the conclusion of an investigation that WorkSafe -- formerly Occupational Safety and Health (Osh) -- began soon after the tragedy.
Front-counter workers Peggy Noble, 67, and Leigh Cleveland, 55, died in the shootings on September 1 last year.
Russell John Tully, 48, has been charged with murdering the pair.
He is also accused of attempting to murder two other staff members -- Lindy Curtis, 43, who was shot in the leg and badly injured, and Kim Elizabeth Adams.
Tully also faces other charges, including theft and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, and is due back in court in two weeks.
Leigh Cleveland's mother, Kathleen Cleveland, told the Herald yesterday that she was disappointed by WorkSafe's planned prosecution, as it would drag up feelings she had been struggling with.
"You sort of feel you're getting over it and then it brings it up again. But they probably have their reasons [for going to court]," she said.
"It's a bit hard to take it all in, especially after what we've been through."
The surviving victim, Lindy Curtis, did not want to comment yesterday.
While prosecutions against government departments are unusual, they are not unheard of.
Legal expert Graeme Edgeler said the ability to prosecute crown agencies came about after the Cave Creek disaster in 1995, in which a Department of Conservation platform collapsed and 14 people died.
Mr Edgeler said WorkSafe was allowed to prosecute other employers, so it was only fair government departments could face the courts as well.
Reparation paid to victims or families varies across health and safety cases. A WorkSafe spokesman said there was no upper limit for payments.
- Kirsty Johnston of The New Zealand Herald
