Anger at Dreamworld inquiry at delay providing documents relating to Thunder River Rapids tragedy

AN email was sent five months before Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids disaster asking if the four buttons needed to shut down the ride could be changed to just one, the inquest has heard.

Counsel assisting the Coroner Ken Fleming. Picture: AAP

THE Dreamworld manager who asked about simplifying the stop buttons on the Thunder River Rapids Ride did so because his boss asked him to.

Dreamworld attractions supervisor Jason Johns sent an email in five months before the disaster asking the engineering department to look into changing the ride’s shut down procedure from four buttons to one button.

“If I could be perfectly clear, the steps were what I considered to be very simple, very basic. At no point did I have any operator concerns in regards to the shut down procedure,” Mr Johns told the inquest.

He said attractions manager Andrew Fyfe had asked him to look into it.

Counsel assisting the Coroner Ken Fleming speaks to the media during the lunch break for the Dreamworld Thunder River Rapids Ride Inquest at Southport Court in the Gold Coast, Friday, June 29, 2018. (AAP Image/David Clark)

“In all my experience no one ever had any difficulties in regards to the shut down procedure of the ride,” Mr Johns said.

The supervisor said he left the request with engineering because he did not think it was urgent because it had not been raised to him by operators.

It could be days before it is determined if witnesses need to be recalled to the inquest into the Thunder River Rapids Ride disaster after a document dump from Dreamworld earlier this week.

This morning it was revealed that a majority of the more than 1000 documents provided by Dreamworld’s lawyers on Monday were relevant to witnesses which had already been called.

Counsel assisting the coroner Ken Fleming outside of the inquiry described the situation as “frustrating”.

Dreamworld victims Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Roozi Araghi and Cindy Low. Picture: Supplied

He said he was not clear if witnesses will have to be recalled.

“That may be the case and will only be decided after a full review of the documents and everybody has their input,” he said.

The inquest has already been extended two weeks after sittings in June were slower than expected.

The inquest is examining what happened just before 2pm on October 25, 2016 after a pump stopped working on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, causing water levels to drop and a raft to become stuck on the conveyor belt.

That raft was hit by another carrying Luke Dorsett, his sister Kate Goodchild, her daughter Ebony, 12, Roozbeh Araghi, Cindy Low and her son, Kieran, 10.

The four adults were killed. The children escaped uninjured.

Dreamworld victims Roozi Araghi, Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Cindy Low.

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The court was adjourned early yesterday to give lawyers a chance to examine the documents before Dreamworld attraction supervisor Jennie Knight took the stand this morning.

It is understood Dreamworld initially provided about a terabyte of data in documents ahead of the inquest.

A large number of those documents were duplicates.

Mr Fleming said it was important all the documents were produced as soon as possible as “justice delayed is justice denied”.

“Any delay will cause stress to the family,” he said.

“People’s memories start to decline after a while and we need to get this finished as soon as we can.”

Earlier, barrister for Cindy Low’s family, Matthew Hickey, told the court the metadata on a large number of the documents showed they had been processed in April last year.

“I have read them and it only took a number of hours to tell me that they were plainly relevant to what they are here to do,” Mr Hickey said.

“These issues touch upon the natural justice not only to the families but everyone here.”

Flowers at the front of Dreamworld following the Thunder River Rapids ride disaster. Picture: Getty Images

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Mr Hickey said some of the documents related to risk assessments of the Thunder River Rapids Ride conducted by senior ride operator Peter Nemeth.

Mr Nemeth was on the controls at the time of the disaster and was one of the first witnesses to be called in June.

Mr Hickey said there were also documents which related to every single one of the witnesses who had been called this week including changes in emergency procedures and a request to have the control panel changed so the ride was stopped by pressing just one button instead of four.

Barrister Bruce Hodgkinson, acting for Dreamworld, said the witnesses had already been cross-examined in relation to the issues raised in the documents.

Coroner James McDougall said the inquest needed to continue so it was not delayed.

“I am reluctant to delay proceedings about these matters that I can do little about apart form reflect these in my findings,” he said.

Earlier, attractions supervisor Jennie Knight told the inquest a memo sent on October 18, 2016, days before the disaster about a fast emergency stop button was to ensure it was clear who was in control of the ride.

The memo tells operators the emergency stop button on the unload platform was only to be pressed if the main control panel was not reached or there was a risk to guest or staff safety.

Police and emergency services personnel at Dreamworld on the day of the disaster. Picture: Regi Varghese

Ms Knight said they wanted to “make it clear it was only to be pressed in the conditions” and “make it clear they were to be in control of the ride” as the senior operator.

The inquest was also told that five months before the disaster an email was sent asking to simplify the emergency shutdown procedure.

The coronial inquest was shown an email sent by attractions supervisor Jason Johns on May 6, 2016 asks about a single shut down button.

“In regards to the emergency shut down procedure (persons in water/raft capsized) what is the possibility of having the below steps change from individual steps into one step?” Mr Johns asked in the email.

“There has been some conversations around this, just asking the question.”

Ten days later on May 16, 2016, Mr Johns sent another email saying he was still looking into a single button.

In the second email, Mr Johns also notes changes made in the annual shutdown of the ride to help fix problems including raft stalls at the button of the conveyor, conveyor chain break alarms and changes to when the rapid ride alarm was pressed.

“We have increased the amount of control the operators have over the rafts between the top the conveyor through the emergency dispatch jack,” the second email said.

“Operators are now required to have three rafts within their control at all times to limit the amount of rafts that will be at the bottom of the conveyor in the event of a ride shutdown.”