Former Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall has won his bid to have his defended hearing moved from Greymouth to Wellington.
Whittall is denying a dozen charges under the Health
and Safety in Employment Act following the Pike River Mine explosion on
November 19, 2010 that claimed 29 lives. At the time, he was the chief
executive of Pike River Coal.
In a decision released today, Judge Jane Farish says
the defended hearing should be moved from to Wellington "given the
complexity and length of the trial together with Mr Whittall's personal
position".
Crown lawyers argued the "paramount consideration"
was the wider interest of the Greymouth community and in particular the
victims' families, and said it would not be in the interests of justice
to transfer the hearing out of the town.
Judge Farish says Whittall's ability to conduct his
defence would be "significantly compromised" by the trial being held in
Greymouth.
Public interest in the case could be met with a livestream of the hearing, she says.
At a hearing on March 14, Judge Farish was told the
Crown was briefing 113 witnesses including nine expert witnesses. It was
expected some of those briefs of evidence would be "lengthy, complex
and detailed".
More than 600,000 documents needed to be reviewed, the Crown said at the time.
The defence estimated the hearing could take between 12 and 16 weeks.
Whittall's lawyer Stuart Grieve QC said the case is
complex in a legal sense as well as in the volume of material which
needs to be considered.
There are limited flights
from Christchurch and Wellington to Hokitika and any overseas witnesses
would need to catch two flights to get to the hearing, he said.
"The
cost of travel is not inconsiderable, but it is more the ability to
have access to witnesses in a timely manner and the logistics of having
witnesses available to prepare or instruct."
Mr
Grieve said Whittall lived in Wellington and "assists greatly" in the
running of his home. Holding the hearing in Wellington would allow
Whittall to mount the "best defence" possible, rather than just an
adequate one, he said.
In previous court appearances in Greymouth, "there has been significant animosity towards him [Whittall]", Mr Grieve said.
Judge
Farish agreed Whittall would be under "significant stress" if the
hearing was to remain in Greymouth "not only as a result of the hearing,
but given the community's vilification of him".
Meanwhile
Crown lawyer Brent Stanaway argued it was "insufficient" to rely on
media coverage of the case and also streaming the hearing to adequately
meet the needs of the great public interest around Greymouth and the
country.
He said little weight should be placed
on Whittall's personal circumstances and any animosity toward him could
be minimised by more security.
The Greymouth courthouse had adequate audio/visual links for witnesses, he said.
While
the issues raised by Whittall's defence were problematic, there were
not "insurmountable" and were not enough for the court to transfer the
hearing in the interests of justice, Mr Stanaway said.
Key facts of the Whittall trial:
- Whittall facing 12 health and safety charges
- trial could take 12-16 weeks
- more than 600,000 documents to be reviewed
- one document contains 20,000 emails
- legal teams won't be ready until January or February next year
- 113 prosecution witnesses; six to seven weeks to present evidence
3 News
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