The owner of Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld has been hit with three criminal charges in relation to the deaths of four people almost four years ago. Ardent Leisure confirmed the charges in a statement issued to the ASX on Tuesday morning.
Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi were killed in October 2016 when a water pump on the Thunder River Rapids ride (TRRR) malfunctioned, causing them to be tipped into the conveyor belt mechanism.
Following an inquest into the tragic deaths, an independent assessment was launched by Queensland Work Health and Safety Prosecutor and as a result the park’s operator is now facing three charges. The Category 2 charges were filed in Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning, pursuant to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, and carry a maximum fine of $1.5 million each.
“First and foremost, we again express our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of Roozbeh Araghi, Luke Dorsett, Kate Goodchild and Cindy Low for their loss and ongoing suffering and say sorry to all of the people impacted by this tragedy,” Ardent Leisure said in its statement.
“There has been considerable change at Dreamworld over the last few years as was acknowledged by the Coroner in his Report. Dreamworld has taken substantive and proactive steps to improve safety across the entire park and continues to enhance existing systems and practices, as well as adopt new ones, as we develop and implement our safety case in accordance with the Queensland Government’s new major amusement park safety regulations.”
It comes five months after Queensland southeastern Coroner James McDougall referred Ardent Leisure for possible prosecution as he delivered his findings, following a six-week inquest into the tragic deaths of four people at the popular Gold Coast theme park in October 2o16.
McDougall handed down his findings in a Brisbane court in Feburary and delivered a scathing assessment of the ride, before revealing he would be referring the Australian-based leisure company, who also own White WaterWorld, to the Office of Industrial Relations (OIR). Delivering his recommendations, McDougall criticised the park’s “frighteningly unsophisticated systems”, and called out Dreamworld for its “systemic failure in relation to all aspects of safety”.
“It is reasonably suspected that Ardent Leisure may have committed an offence under workplace law,” McDougall said at the time. “Whilst various breaches of the WHS Act have previously been considered by OIR with respect to this incident, the details of which have been included in the inquest brief, given the significant further documentary material provided during the course of the coronial inquiry, and produced at inquest.”