Emily Jordan: Death By Misadventure, Tell Clients The Truth About The Risks. Staff Panicked .

Emily and her partner Jonathan Armour

The highly critical jury at the Coronial inquest into the death of British tourist Emily Jordan has returned a verdict of Death by Misadventure.

Emily drowned whilst participating in a commercially organised river boarding excursion with Mad Dog River Boarding ( now named The River Boarding Company) on the Kawarau River in New Zealand, 2008.

Read yesterday's blog  Emily Jordan Inquest Opens In UK  for the circumstances surrounding her death and the "third world" safety conditions that prevail in sectors of New Zealand's adventure tourism industry.

The BBC reported on the hearing, saying

The jury cited factors including lack of equipment and unsuitable life jackets as contributing to her death near Queenstown, South Island in 2008.

When Emily became trapped under a rock there was no rescue equipment to pull her out and it took 20 minutes to release her.

The foreman of the nine person jury echoed the words of a NZ coroner  at the inquest of Tom Donaldson, another British tourist, who was killed whilst sandboarding at the Omapere/Opononi dunes in New Zealand, i.e. companies need to tell their clients the truth about the risks they are facing.

 

The jury also criticised the complete lack of safety regulation in regards to riverboarding in New Zealand, a lack of staff training and the absence of vital safety and lifesaving equipment:

"On April, 29, 2008, on the Kawarau River, Emily Jordan was participating in a river boarding excursion, when she became entrapped beneath the water, against a rock, which resulted in her drowning

"The following factors, we feel, contributed to Emily's death. Firstly information and instruction were not given to clients in a way that clearly represented the true risks of danger.

"Secondly, the training received by the guides was inadequate for emergency rescue and entrapment and not specific to this particular activity of river boarding. It was not regulated by an external body.

"Thirdly, lack of essential lifesaving equipment to hand - such as a whistle, rope and knife - was a major factor in delaying the speed of rescue. Also the one size fits all life jacket was clearly unsuitable for river boarding in respect of buoyancy and lack of safety features, such as crotch strap, D-ring and whistle attachment.

"Furthermore, a rescue craft was not available. We believe a combination of all these factors and events contributed to the death of Emily Jordan." source

The Coroner, Robin Balmain, summed up by saying

"he would not be making recommendations to authorities regarding Miss Jordan's death. He said: "It does not seem to me to be right to interfere in the affairs of another sovereign country. New Zealand has its own laws, its own social and sporting culture and it seems to me that it is simply not right to interfere with that."

He added: "However, the second reason is perhaps more important and that is that I have heard some detailed evidence of the enquiry that has been mounted in New Zealand into this industry.

“The catalyst for the enquiry was Emily's death and the determined efforts made by her father, who has been tireless throughout this case to see that lessons can be learned where possible and appropriate action taken to lessen the risks to those who participate in these sports."

Another report said Mad Dog's staff had panicked when Emily got into difficulties. Another indication of a lack of training

Black Country coroner Robin Balmain criticised Mad Dog Riverboarding, which ran the activity, saying: “The overall impression one gains on listening to the evidence is that the guides panicked, they did not know what to do and they did not have the equipment with which to do it.”

Regulations were eventually introduced following Emily's death, but the government shied away from any requirement to properly and fully inform participants of the dangers they are exposed to when taking part in some 'extreme' activities in New Zealand. It will be interesting to see if  'Prior Disclosure' or 'Informed Consent' amendments will now be made to the present legislation before it begins to take effect in October of this year.

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Mad Dog River Boarding/ The River Boarding Company's website only has this brief statement about safety

"River boarding is an adventure. As with all white water activities there is an inherent risk of drowning. All guides are trained to the highest possible standards to help ensure your trip is as safe and enjoyable as possible."

Compare that to the current Maritime New Zealand guidelines. Those guidelines say that this statement  (or words to a similar effect) should be given to each participant

“White-water boarding is an adventure activity with a degree of risk. Participants should be aware that they will be controlling their own white-water board and the commercial white-water-boarding operator cannot guarantee your safety. In any white-water activity, there is an inherent risk of drowning.”

Which statement do you think properly represents the true risks of danger?

20 May Update:

In the days following the trial

Mrs Jordan said: "We were obviously pleased that the company has been found guilty. It was what we would expect from all we've heard from the court case last week. I don't think there was any other conclusion to this really.

"It just seems incredible that there are no corporate manslaughter charges in New Zealand, which is part of the reason why these activities go on - because these companies, especially some of them, know that they can get away with no safety regulations, no training, no safety equipment."

Miss Jordan's father, Chris, who has sat through the court hearings, added that it was "obviously good news" that the company had pleaded guilty.

He told Radio New Zealand he always hoped to see a conviction and "hopefully see some changes taking place with regard to the way river boarding in particular was run - and to some other extreme sports in general.

"To just reduce the horrendous deaths that occur in some of these extreme sports would be my primary aim, my primary reason for coming over (from Britain) this week."
Mr Jordan said it had been hard to listen to some of the details about how his daughter died, especially because of "the preventable nature of some of the things that happened".
He added: "I think that's what's really come home to me, how preventable this death was." source

Our sincere condolences are again extended to the family and friends of Emily Jordan, especially to her father who has worked tirelessly in the hope of preventing other families going through what his had experienced. Unfortunately since Emily's passing other young people have died in New Zealand and there 's also been a number of serious injuries (see below for details and links)

He now plans to write a book and we wish him every success with that and with raising awareness about this issue.

 

Please visit the The Emily Jordan Foundation which was set up in her memory and give it your support

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You may also be interested in these recent Adventure Tourism blogs
Tom Donaldson Inquest - Coroners Says 'Warn Tourists' (Nov 2010)
Tourists Seriously Injured In Bay Of Islands Boat Incidents (April 2011)
Alistair McWhannell Guilty Of Manslaughter In Swing Bridge Death (June 2010)
Fox Glacier Plane Crash, Nine Dead Including Four Tourists (Sept 2010)
Tourists Injured in Queenstown Jet Boat Crash, Another Died Swimming With Dolphins (Nov 2010)
Thrillseekers Adventure Ltd Fined For Bungy Fall (May 2011)
Australian Tourist Seriously Injured By Dophin Boat (Dec 2010)
Wellington Reverse Bungy Closed Amid Safety Fears (Dec 2010)
Tourists seriously injured in collision between Outward Bound cutter and a Dolphin Watch Ecotours (Feb 2011)
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Our NZ adventure tourism facts and stats page.

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BBC Hardtalk Interview With John Key: Key Roasted On 100% Image

BBC Hardtalk’s Stephen Sakur roasted John Key over New Zealand’s 100% Pure brand image during  a recent televised interview.

Most of us know that NZ 100% Pure is only an advertising slogan and that it has been dropped from the country’s marketing in favour of the 100% Pure You brand, but it is interesting nevertheless to watch the PM putting on his Minister of Tourism Hat and trying to defend the indefensible and outdated, much to Sackur’s amusement.

Watch an excerpt from the interview on the BBC’s website here and read what Kiwis think about it on Google groups here

But it is worth watching the full interview, which has been posted on YouTube today by aidanleenz. 

Sackur called Key “the most inexperienced PM in New Zealand’s history ” who’d "never run a city let alone a ministerial department” and asked why Key was telling the country's young people to stay and make New Zealand great when he himself made his fortune working in London.

There is an absolute wealth of data demonstrating that New Zealand is not 100% Pure.

Key’s attempt to dismiss data as the ‘opinion’ of one highly regarded NZ academic, Mike Joy, comes across as avoiding  the issue for the sake of the cameras, instead of seizing the opportunity to admit there is a problem that his government is taking very seriously.

John Key was then roasted in Parliament over the interview, when he admitted he “couldn’t remember” what he said on BBC Hardtalk because he hadn’t watched it yet and that “one needs to balance the environment with the economy“.

But if NZ is 100% Pure doesn’t that mean the environment has to take priority 100%?
“NZ 50/50 Pure as long as the economy doesn’t suffer and the farmers are happy” doesn’t have the same nation branding advertising pull does it.

Key has come a long way since his “loosest slot machines in the Pacific Rim” stumbles but still has some way to go. Watch the Parliamentary roasting here. You may also like to read Pure Nonsense, by Brian Turner in the May 2010 NZ Listener magazine, excerpt:

New Zealand is definitely clean and green. Yeah, right.
“I wonder how many of us are sick of the extent to which New Zealanders delude themselves, and are willing to believe many of the most outrageous lies they are told. Like, for instance, this is a “clean and green” country, a place that is “pure” and often “pristine”…”

Back to the Hardtalk interview. Sackur quotes Mike Joy as saying

“We are delusional about how clean and green we are”

And you can see how he arrives at that conclusion.
For data about NZ’s pollution, its use of a wide range of pesticides and herbicides, and the country’s planned exploitation of fossil fuels please visit our Greenwash NZ page, here’s the first section from it.
Read more…


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Level Of Criminal Assaults By Children In NZ “No Surprise”

Lost among the hype of New Zealand's recently released 2010 crime figures were some shocking data about child violence. The stats make for grim reading as they come at a time when schoolyard bullying and violent  assaults are frequently in the New Zealand news.

Police crime statistics showed the number of children under 9 apprehended for assaults in 2010 was 64, almost double the 33 recorded in 2009.

Assaults in the 10-13 age group also rose, with 827 apprehensions in 2010, compared to 770 in 2009. The majority of offenders were boys. Read Crime shock: NZ’s little thugs on the NZ Herald’s site.

Family First NZ says that the level of criminal assaults being committed by primary school students is no surprise - and will worsen, especially when schools are pressured to accept and accommodate increasingly defiant and unacceptable behaviour by children.

"In 2008, Family First caught out the Ministry of Education when the ministry's student engagement report buried the primary school figures in a graph with no raw numbers and no commentary. In fact, the number of primary school children stood down and suspended had grown from 4800 in 2000 to 6595 in 2007. That year, 945 primary school students were suspended and 5650 stood down - 28 per cent of the total number of students at all levels stood down in that year," says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

"We have tried to bury our heads in the sand on this growing problem - but the problem hasn't gone away and is only worsening."
"And it's not just in schools. Ministry of Justice statistics released last year showed that from 1998-2008, the number of police apprehensions for grievous/serious assaults by 10-13 year olds increased by more than 70%. For each of the most recent two years, there had been almost 1,000 apprehensions for 10-13 year olds for all violent offences, which include aggravated robbery, sexual violation, indecent assault, and serious assaults - an increase of a third since 1998," says Mr McCoskrie.

"Alarm bells should be ringing when there has been a 70% increase in the number of children committing a serious enough act of violence to warrant police involvement, and almost 1000 children are being chucked out of primary schools for behaviour that is just so bad that schools have got to the point where they can't even work with it - even when the Ministry of Education is pressuring schools not to suspend or expel students."

"There are many factors that may be contributing to these statistics including the levels of violence in the media and games, the undermining of parental and school authority, the 'rights' culture being fed to young people, and family breakdown and fatherlessness," says Mr McCoskrie.

"But firstly, we must be honest enough to admit that there is a disturbing trend which needs urgent action and a change of policies as to how we deal with these children and their families. Forcing schools to accommodate the problem is not the solution and is harming the school community." source

Emigrating to New Zealand because you think it is a great place to raise kids? Read Rotorua Stabbing “Indicative” Of Youth Issues In City and NZ A Great Place to Raise Kids? Porirua’s Midnight Express (blog written about an alarming increase in Children committing violent crime and robberies around New Zealand)


You may also find interesting
All posts tagged Bullying
Our Education and Children's Issues - Facts and Stats page
NZ A Great Place to Raise Kids? Porirua’s Midnight Express
NZ Poverty Not A Lifestyle Choice, Poor Families Can’t Even Afford Basics,
NZ Poverty A ‘Lifestyle Choice’: Let Them Drink Coke,

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