Stricter safety rules for adventure tourism industry

Catherine Peters, who fell while doing a bridge swing near Woodville in 2009. Photo / Supplied

Stricter safety regulations for the accident-hit adventure tourism industry are set to come into force in October 2011.

The new rules will make it an offence to lead activities involving significant hazards without a current safety audit certificate.
They are expected to affect about 1500 operators.

Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson says the new regulations will make adventure tourism safer, while making sure businesses remain "viable and innovative".

"They will ensure that the industry is regulated appropriately and that injury prevention remains the top priority."

Ms Wilkinson says the large number of operators that need to be registered and audited means there will be a three-year transition period before all adventure organisations are required to have a safety certificate.

"It's important that in setting up this safety scheme we do it once and do it right."

The new rules come after a string of adventure tourism accidents in the last two years.

In April 2008, English tourist Emily Jordan, 21, drowned while river-boarding on the Kawarau River.

Mad Dog River Boarding were fined $66,000 for having inadequate safety proceedures before her death.

That was followed by the deaths of 42-year-old Chinese tourist Yan Wang, killed when a jetboat flipped in the Shotover River near Queenstown and 18-year-old Massey University student Catherine Peters, who fell while doing a bridge swing near Woodville in 2009.

Two more heli-skiing fatalities prompted the Government to outline measures the improved safety measures for the industry in August.

Ms Wilkinson says the safety registration scheme will be run by an organisation appointed by the Department of Labour.

Safety auditors will need to be accredited.

Organisations that don't charge fees, like schools or voluntary clubs or groups, will not be affected.

TRAGEDIES

Adventure tourism deaths:

April 29, 2008: English tourist Emily Jordan, 21, drowns while river-boarding on the Kawarau River.

September 25, 2008: Chinese tourist Yan Wang, 42, is killed when a jetboat flips over in the Shotover River near Queenstown.

March 7, 2009: Massey University student Catherine Peters, 18, falls to her death while doing a bridge swing near Woodville.

July 24, 2009: Australian Llynden Riethmuller is killed in an avalanche while on a heli-skiing trip in ranges near Methven, mid-Canterbury.

August 14, 2009: Heli-skiing guide Jonathan Harvey Morgan, 38, is killed in an avalanche while leading a group of tourists.