Adventure reform too late for bereft parents

BY SHANE COWLISHAW

The phone call every father fears came to Chris Jordan two years ago.

The British businessman's beloved daughter, Emily, a university student on holiday in far-off New Zealand, had died.

The 21-year-old drowned after being trapped under a rock while river boarding in the Kawarau River near Queenstown in April 2008 despite frantic efforts to rescue her.

One year later Black Sheep Adventures, the parent company of Mad Dog River Boarding, was found guilty on two health and safety charges, fined $66,000 and ordered to pay reparation of $80,000 to the family.

But this did nothing to satisfy Jordan's calls for changes to the industry. His impassioned letter to Prime Minister John Key sparked a safety review by the Department of Labour.

That review was finally made public on Tuesday and a compulsory registration and audit scheme for all operators was announced.

For Jordan it was a faint light at the end of a long tunnel, but the preventable nature of his daughter's death is still hard to bear.

"It's an absolutely life-changing experience ... you don't get over it, you learn to live with it maybe but every day Emily is there, who she was, what she did."

Campaigning for improved safety is important to Jordan, but he stresses he does not want to appear negative and has nothing against the country that claimed his daughter's life.

The introduction of a compulsory register was a positive move, but the "devil would be in the detail".

Jordan believes a robust licensing system would be better, with clear penalties for companies that did not perform.

The review clearly identified that a fence at the top of a cliff was better than an ambulance at the bottom. However, maintaining the fence was important if things were to improve, Jordan said.

"Emily has done this, not me. It was her death that sparked this ... we always said that part of her legacy must be to change what goes on and obviously we've partly achieved that change."

Just under a year after Emily Jordan's death, Christchurch student Catherine Peters was preparing to launch herself off a bridge in Manawatu.

The 18-year-old was on a trip with the Massey University Alpine Club that had taken her to a bridge-swing near Woodville.

Having already completed a first jump, the veterinary student decided to have another go. But that decision would prove fatal.

Alastair McWhannell, the operator, was distracted and failed to set her rope to the right length and to tie it to the bridge correctly.

Catherine fell 22 metres onto rocks below and died in hospital that night.

McWhannell was sentenced to 400 hours community work last month, but the decision brought little comfort to a family who has lost its "extraordinary" member.

Catherine's father, Bosco, who is the chaplain at Christ's College, and mother, Helen, welcomed changes that came too late for their family.

Looking at the photos that decorate the hallway of their central Christchurch home, the couple remember a talented teenager with the world at her feet.

Fluent in four languages, including Latin, Catherine was a quirky and enthusiastic girl who was a key member of a close-knit family.

"She had that sort of unique way of seeing the world ... she could see the extraordinary things in ordinary things," Helen Peters says.

Support from family and friends, as well as their strong faith, has helped them through the difficult times since their daughter's death, but Catherine is never far from her parents' minds.

Both write a daily journal and share their troubles with each other on long walks. Making sure their son, Jonathan, can move forward is a priority.

But in the end their daughter is dead, and it is a tough thing to deal with, Bosco Peters says.

"For ages and ages I would just lie there and see Catherine just fall and fall and fall and I'd try and fix the rope."

Compulsory registration for the industry was a great step forward, but why it had not been brought in earlier was puzzling, he says.

Helen Peters believes the bridge-swing operation was a disaster waiting to happen.

Her daughter was a safe person and on March 7, 2009, the day of the accident, Helen was getting ready to send Catherine's bicycle helmet and lights to her in Palmerston North.

"Nobody goes on something like that thinking you're going to die or you wouldn't go, it's just ridiculous."

The Government review was another milestone in dealing with their grief and she hoped speaking out would add weight to the important issue.

The New Zealand adventure tourism industry is a world leader, and is generally respected for its approach to safety.

But it is clear that the disparities between different operations have concerned some insiders who were worried poor safety practices could jeopardise that reputation.

A risk management report prepared by the Labour Department as part of the adventure tourism review claimed many injuries sustained in land and water-based activities were not being reported by operators.

There have been 39 deaths and 382 serious injuries recorded in the sector in the past five years, while ACC claims have more than doubled in that time.

Queenstown is the epicentre of the industry in New Zealand, and submissions to the review from the region reveal concerns about rogue operators and confusion about the regulatory system.

The woman in charge of the review, Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson, accepted a good, strong look at the industry was needed.

"It is certainly due and we have to acknowledge that the tragedy with Emily Jordan was certainly a catalyst to take a good look at it and to do the preparatory work that did actually reveal that there were gaps."

One of those gaps was an uncertainty about who was operating in the industry. A compulsory register would solve that problem, she said.

A full licensing system was deemed unnecessary in the circumstances and it was important any changes did not stifle innovation or become overly bureaucratic.

Nevertheless, a lot of work remained to be done and the frequency of audits as well as penalties and sanctions would be carefully considered, she said.

The review recommendations have been met with praise from tourism operators.

Totally Tourism director Mark Quickfall, who has worked in the industry for 30 years, praised the thoroughness of the process.

Talking to the operators was an integral part of any changes because the ultimate responsibility for safety lay with them.

"You can have all the regulations you want but unless the management is committed it's not going to work."

It was true some areas of the industry lacked a safety framework, but they could not bear the full brunt of the blame for accidents if there was no system in place, he said.

The Tourism Industry Association has thrown its support behind the proposal but stressed the details would need consideration.

Advocacy manager Geoff Ensor agreed there were gaps that needed addressing but denied the process was overdue.

The registration process and audit system would have little effect on the majority of operators who had developed their own robust safety plans, he predicted.

Any audit system needed to provide constructive feedback as operators were not merely seeking a plaque to stick on their wall, he said.

These changes come too late for the Emilys and Catherines who have died seeking the New Zealand thrill, and their families, who will grieve their loss forever.

Adventure activities will always pose risks, but adrenaline-seekers and their families have a right to experience these pursuits in an environment made as safe as humanly possible. It is hoped that these changes will ensure that.

- © Fairfax NZ News