A crane operator who was killed as he delivered timber had earlier raised concerns with his employer about how close the power lines were.<\/p>\n
Wesley Talakai, 38, struck live lines with his truck-mounted crane outside a house building site in Greenhithe, northwest Auckland, in August 2023.<\/p>\n
WorkSafe said the crane was just 2.5m from the lines, when the legal minimum is four.<\/p>\n
“Mr Talakai raised concerns with his employer, NZ Solid, about limited space at the site and proximity to overhead power lines, however the company gave him a gate code to access the site and continue the work,” said the agency on its website.<\/p>\n
“NZ Solid did not obtain consent from the line owner to work within that distance.”<\/p>\n
WorkSafe quoted from a victim impact statement, in which Natasha Talakai told the court that the time since her husband’s death had been “excruciatingly difficult, exhausting, painful, and lonely”.<\/p>\n
Its investigation found serious failures including relying on verbal instructions, an inadequate lifting plan and failing to properly assess the risks.<\/p>\n
Planning a job and “never assuming it’ll be fine” were important, said regional manager Brad Duggan.<\/p>\n
Judge Fitzgibbon suppressed the amount of reparations ordered.<\/p>\n