Dreamworld disaster sentencing: Theme park guilty, fined millions
The husband of Dreamworld disaster victim Cindy Low has told how his “heart aches daily” for the death of a woman with “the heart of a tiger”. It comes after the theme park’s owner was convicted and fined millions of dollars over the 2016 Thunder River Rapids tragedy that claimed four lives.
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The husband of Dreamworld disaster victim Cindy Low has told how his “heart aches daily” for the death of a woman with “the heart of a tiger”.
It comes after the owner of Dreamworld has been convicted and fined $3.6 million over the 2016 Thunder River Rapids tragedy that claimed four lives, including Mrs Low’s.
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Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi also died when their raft collided with another on the much-loved family ride, hurling them in to the churning water and conveyor belt system below.
After lawyers for the theme park’s parent company Ardent Leisure entered guilty pleas to three workplace health and safety charges in July, the long-running saga was finally resolved at a sentencing hearing at Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.
Mathew Low was not present in court for the sentencing hearing, but issued a statement revealing the unspeakable grief his family is still facing four years on from the tragedy.
“Our hearts ache daily at the loss of Cindy, as we try with varying success to be grateful for the time we had together, creating wonderful memories,” he said.
“She just made our lives better.
“She embraced us and her love of life was so unconditional.
“She has a heart of a tiger, fierce and protective.
“The time since, the inquest and sentencing process has been heartbreaking for us all and today’s outcome will not fill the gap which has been left in our lives.”
He said he supported the court’s decision to impose a $3.6 million fine and conviction against Dreamworld’s parent company Ardent Leisure.
“We accept today’s sentencing determination just as we did support the Coroner’s referral of Dreamworld’s parent company, Ardent Leisure, for possible prosecution,” he said.
“It is clear that ride maintenance, safety and emergency procedures, must be an absolute priority for Dreamworld’s parent company and that they should be held to the highest standards to ensure nothing of this sort can ever happen again.”
Victim Ms Goodchild’s daughter Ebony, then aged 12, and Mrs Low’s son Kieran, then 10, miraculously survived the tragedy.
The court was told Ebony, who watched Monday’s proceedings from the public gallery with her grandmother Kim Dorsett, was held dangling in her seat by her velcro seatbelt as the other occupants were tossed overboard when the raft suddenly lurched upright after coming into contact with another vessel on the conveyor belt.
In February, Coroner James McDougall delivered a scathing report to wrap up a coronial inquest, before charges were later formally laid by Industrial Relations prosecutors.
The company had been facing a maximum fine of $4.5 million, or $1.5 million for each offence.
Work Health and Safety Prosector Aaron Guilfoyle told the court there was ‘a common theme of failure’ by Dreamworld that led to the tragedy.
Appearing for Dreamworld and Ardent Leisure, Bruce Hodgkinson SC said the company apologised unreservedly over the tragedy and took full responsibility.
In delivering her decision, Magistrate Pam Dowse said the tragedy had left a terrible legacy for many families.
“The consequences were … catastrophic,” she said.
Ms Dowse said it was to Ardent’s ‘credit’ that it had demonstrated a thorough approach to improve safety at the park.
Outside court, Ardent’s new theme parks CEO John Osborne said the company accepted responsibility for the tragedy and the court’s decision.
“It is impossible to comprehend how the families feel and it was heartbreaking to hear the statements (in court) today and my thoughts and prayers are with them,” he said.
“I sincerely hope now the prosecution has been finalised this will go some way towards furthering the healing process for the families and all those who have been so deeply impacted by this tragedy.”
‘I can’t find Mummy’: Words still haunt grieving Dreamworld relative
A mother who lost two children in the Thunder River Rapids tragedy has delivered a heartbreaking statement, as the sentencing hearing into the Dreamworld disaster heard of ‘a common theme of failure’ that led to the horrific incident.
Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi were killed in October 2016 when the popular family ride malfunctioned, throwing them from the raft and trapping them underneath the mechanical conveyor belt.
Theme park operator Ardent Leisure has faced a sentencing hearing at Southport Magistrates Court on Monday after pleading guilty to three industrial charges stemming from the 2016 disaster.
It faces up to $4.5 million in fines.
Kim Dorsett’s children Kate Goodchild and Luke Dorsett died in the tragedy, along with her son’s partner Roozi Araghi, a man Ms Dorsett considered another son, and NSW mum Cindy Low.
Fighting through tears, Ms Dorsett delivered an emotional victim impact statement, telling the court she cried ‘for my lost children every day’.
She said she was haunted by the anguish of her granddaughter Ebony Goodchild who miraculously survived the horrific accident.
“(She said) ‘I can’t find Mummy’, words that will be with me until I take my last breath,” she said.
“I have never been so alone and so isolated.
“It’s heartbreaking.”
She recalled the gut-wrenching moment she farewelled her children.
“Kissing them one last time, they were as cold as ice,” she said.
“I just wanted to wrap them in a blanket.”
She said she had become ‘an expert liar’ telling others she was fine when she was anything but.
“I put on a face for the outside world.
“Loneliness and grief are all I see in my future.”
Ebony and Mrs Low’s son Kieran miraculously survived when the group’s raft collided with another, tossing the occupants in to the churning water and conveyor belt system below.
Ebony did not attend any of the harrowing inquest hearings, but bravely appeared for Monday’s sentencing hearing, supported by her grandmother.
Other family members of the victims watched the proceedings via video link from interstate and overseas.
Ebony bravely appeared in court for the company’s sentencing hearing on the Gold Coast
She was just 12 when her mother Kate Goodchild died along with her uncle Luke Dorsett, his partner Roozi Araghi and NSW mum Cindy Low in the October 2016 tragedy.
Prosecutors have told the court of ‘a common theme of failure’ that led to the horrific tragedy.
Addressing the court, Work Health and Safety Prosector Aaron Guilfoyle said there was ‘a common theme of failure’ by Dreamworld that led to the tragedy.
An inquest into the disaster also delivered a series of scathing findings earlier this year.
Lawyers for Dreamworld’s parent company Ardent Leisure have previously entered guilty pleas to three industrial relations charges over the tragedy.
The court heard it would have cost just $3000 for safety measures to minimise the risk of pump failure, which ultimately caused the tragedy.
It was also revealed in court there were several ways the raft could have been stopped, including an emergency stop button, of which there was none in place for the conveyor on the main panel.
Audits conducted in 2004, 2009, 2013, and 2014-15 all recommended a single emergency stop button to replace the multi-step shutdown system in place on the ride.
Ardent Leisure chairman Dr Gary Weiss and theme parks division chief executive John Osborne said there had been “considerable change” at Dreamworld, as had been acknowledged by the coroner’s 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 news ones, as we develop and implement our safety case in accordance with the Queensland Government’s new major amusement park safety regulations,” a statement issued earlier in the year read.
