Logging firm fined over Rotorua man's death

Robert Epapara

A logging company has been fined $60,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $75,000 for health and safety failings that led to the death of Rotorua forestry worker Robert Epapara.

Complete Logging Limited was sentenced by Judge Maree Mackenzie in the Rotorua District Court yesterday.

Mr Epapara, 23, was hit and killed by a tree felled by another crew member in the Waione Forest near Lake Rotoiti on March 26 last year.

The company had pleaded guilty to one charge under the Health and Safety in Employment Act of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure Mr Epapara was not exposed to the risk of injury during tree felling operations.

Judge Mackenzie said Complete Logging's actions were a departure from industry standards in what was a high risk industry.

However she gave the company credit for its co-operation during the investigation, its previous good safety record and early guilty plea.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union Rotorua organiser Red Middlemiss said the sentence sent a warning to companies who had "shoddy practices" but said there was still an ongoing issue of forestry workers having to work long hours for little money.

"I think it's the thin edge of the wedge, it will definitely help but until the landowners are held culpable and until something happens about them working 16 hours a day, then this issue is not going to be resolved.

"They have to work all waking hours to make enough money to live," Mr Middlemiss said. "The landowners need to cut back on their drive and greed, these people don't live here, they live in America - they don't care. It's not legal to drive on the road more than 11 hours a day. If a truck driver did the same hours he would be prosecuted to the nth degree but it doesn't seem to matter in the forest and these people are driving loaders and are behind chainsaws all day."

WorkSafe New Zealand health and safety operations manager Ona de Rooy said there were important lessons for the forestry industry in Mr Epapara's death.

"There was no plan for that day laid out by the company; there was no 'tailgate meeting' to discuss that day's work and there was no radio provided for Mr Epapara, a tree feller, to communicate with others.

"These are forestry basics that are fundamental to forestry safety and Complete Logging's failures led to Mr Epapara's death.

"Forestry companies must apply the Approved Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting. If Complete Logging Ltd had applied it, the chances are Mr Epapara would be here today.

"Instead, a family and a community grieves over a preventable death. This industry had an appalling 2013 - 10 men died in our forests."