Two “aggressive” guard dogs threatened a pump contractor at a Queensland property one week before a meter reader was mauled to death at the same address, an inquest has heard.
Kane Minion, 42, was working for Energy Queensland in December 2022 when he was killed by the dogs on a property at Greenbank in Logan.
The Coroners Court, sitting in Southport on the Gold Coast this week, has been tasked with examining the circumstances surrounding Mr Minion’s death.
The inquest will also look at the adequacy of meter-reading procedures and the availability of remote meter-reading technologies.
The court on Monday heard four dogs lived at the address, including a bandog bull-mastiff cross named Dozer and a bull-mastiff Rhodesian ridgeback cross named Scooby.
Scooby and Dozer were euthanised following the attack.
Another Rhodesian ridgeback named Dixie, and a miniature dachshund puppy, also lived at the property, the inquest was told.
A sign warning of guard dogs at a property where Kane Minion was mauled to death. (ABC News: Nickoles Coleman )
Retired pump contractor Brian Harnett, who worked for the company Action Pump in November 2022, told the inquiry he’d visited the Ison Road property several times for maintenance issues.
Mr Harnett said contractors usually contacted the owners prior to attending so the dogs that lived there could be locked away inside the house or an enclosure.
He said he knew the dogs at the address were guard dogs because of a sign on the fence and the way they had behaved, adding he’d been glad to know they were locked inside when he was there.
“They took a more aggressive approach,” Mr Harnett said.
“A lot of dogs will bark and then back away, some want to play. They just appeared to be guard dogs with what they were doing.”
Contractor scared away by dogs
Mr Harnett recounted an incident one week before Mr Minion’s death, where two dogs rushed at him and he was forced to get back into his vehicle to avoid them.
“I looked up and the dogs were coming up the driveway,” Mr Harnett said.
“As soon as I saw them, I thought, ‘Nah’, and I got into the car’.”
Mr Harnett told counsel assisting the coroner Bernhard Berger the dogs were aggressively “barking and mouthing” at the window of the car after he got in.
He said he drove toward the house on the rural property because he didn’t want to lead the dogs to the gate and the road.
Exterior of property where Kane Minion died after being mauled by dogs. Dec 5 2022. (ABC News: Nickoles Coleman)
The inquest heard the son of the owners of the property retrieved the dogs.
Mr Harnett told the inquest he regretted not reporting the incident to council, calling it “a genuine mistake in hindsight”.
“If I had and someone would have taken action quickly, then what happened wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
The retired technician said he contacted police when he heard what had happened to Mr Minion.
“I thought back to what had happened to me the week before [and] I thought I should go and let someone know about the occasion, even in hindsight,” Mr Harnett said in evidence.
Dog owner gives evidence
Dog owner Dean Morrow told the inquest he was overseas at the time Mr Minion was killed and his ex-wife Paula Panizza and two teenage children were responsible for the dogs.
Mr Morrow said the dogs were kept as “pet dogs”, despite a sign affixed to the fence that stated: “Warning. Guard dogs on duty. Do not enter”.
Dean Morrow, the owner of the dogs, gave evidence in court on Monday. (ABC News: Alexandria Utting)
The inquest heard the dog Dozer was almost five-years-old, and Scooby was about three-years-old at the time they were involved in the attack.
Mr Morrow said the dogs were not walked often because they lived on a large property and it was the children’s responsibility to exercise them during December 2022 while he was away overseas.
He said when he talked to his son about the day the dogs had rushed at the pump technician, his son believed it was “incidental”.
Kane’s fiancé Toni Baird says the inquest is a chance to piece together what happened and and to push for reforms. (Supplied)
Outside court, Travis Schultz – the lawyer for Mr Minion’s fiancé Toni Baird – said the family hoped the inquest would lead to change.
“Today, hopefully, will be the start of the end insofar as a conclusion is concerned,” he said.
“Getting some answers and most importantly bring about change that ensures this does not happen again and that frontline workers are protected here in Queensland.
“When corporate systems break down there can be a very real human cost, and for Toni, that has been the loss of her fiancé, a loved one, and it has been absolutely devastating for her and those who are close to her.”
The inquest is expected to run until Thursday with nine witnesses giving evidence.
The other owner of the dog, Ms Panizza, will face the inquest later today.