Parents take comfort from centre guilty plea

Judge Anne Kiernan said the seven deaths could have been avoided. Photos / Supplied, Sarah Ivey

No amount of reparation will ever bring back those who lost their lives in the Mangatepopo canyoning tragedy, a mother of one of the students says.

Speaking to reporters after the sentencing at the Auckland District Court, Jennifer Fernandes, whose son Floyd was killed, welcomed the court ruling but said reparation was never the question.

"We will never get back what we've lost. But there has been a high level of accountability and that has been admitted to."

She was impressed there had at least been some accountability.

"An organisation like (the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre) that prides itself on its standards is now pleading guilty to the lives that have gone because of negligence. We are very impressed."

She wasn't angry and relied on her faith to get her through the first dark days after the tragedy up until yesterday's sentencing.

"I'm pleased and proud of my god - and the [justice] system."

The father of Elim College teacher Tony McClean will today visit the gorge where his son and six Elim College students were swept to their deaths.

John McClean said he would visit the Mangatepopo Gorge, near Turangi in the central North Island, this weekend.

Catherine Linnen, who lost her daughter Tara Gregory in the tragedy, visited the scene last week and did the same course - and wants it kept open.

"I went there last week. It gave me some understanding perhaps of what happened in the gorge. It also gave me an understanding because it challenged me out of my physical comfort zone ... although at the end of it, it was a sad time to see what my daughter had to go through."

She said she could understand why OPC took young people canyoning because of the satisfaction participants had when they finished the course. Ms Linnen didn't want the course closed and felt it was up to parents to decide if their children went there. "I signed those forms ... even though it said OPC couldn't guarantee zero risk. Surely parents should be able to make those decisions for their children."

Asked what their feelings were for the group's instructor, Jodi Sullivan, Mr McClean said he wished her well.

"My heart goes out to her. She's been going through absolute hell for nearly a year. I wish her all the very best. She was the last adult friend my son had on that ledge."

Ms Linnen said she didn't think badly of Ms Sullivan's decision not to take part in restorative justice meetings with parents.

"Some of us have [spoken to her]. Some people haven't had the same opportunities [to speak to her]. I guess ultimately it's her decision, I wonder if it might have been good for her."

"I don't feel anger towards her. We all make bad decisions. Unfortunately hers resulted in people dying."

But Elim College proprietor Luke Brough was more critical of the judgment calls made by OPC.

He said "appalling decisions" were made and he would find it difficult to send students back there.

"This was not an unavoidable accident. This was the result of poor systems and poor decision making at OPC."