Dreamworld staff’s safety fears after tragedy reveals parks rollercoaster of emotion
STAFF have accused Dreamworld of refusing to implement key training procedures following the Thunder River Rapids ride tragedy that killed four people.
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STAFF have accused Dreamworld of refusing to implement key training procedures following the Thunder River Rapids ride tragedy that killed four people.
The Bulletin has obtained internal documents and spoken to whistleblowers as part of an investigation which puts the spotlight on the theme park’s management on the eve of a coroner’s inquest.
Staff claim a manager refused requests for critical response training because “the incident was too raw to get involved”.
Experienced health and safety workers also allege:
* No formalised critical response training had occurred since the tragic events of 2016.
* When it was brought up managers responded by saying that “it is too raw” or talked about cost factors and not having the budget to cover the expense of training.
* Nothing was documented for first respondents on what to do if an incident occurred on a ride which requires guest extraction.
* If a guest sustained an injury on a ride there was no formal response, individual clinicians having to make up their own mind what to do.
* If a ride like the Buzz Saw was stopped, staff lacked formal guidelines on how to get people out.
* Inexperienced staff had been appointed to senior safety roles and some multi-hired staff have basic first aid but need more training.
* First aid staff had been excluded from some training, and safety concerns were raised in an inhouse survey.
* Some staff were refusing to operate certain rides because they had concerns about safety.
* Staff were operating rides after only four to five months working in the theme park despite previous practice requiring 18 months.
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A pre-inquest hearing in April found a faulty water pump and raft were the likely trigger for the ride malfunction which killed four tourists in October 2016.
Kate Goodchild, 32, her brother Luke Dorsett, 35, and his partner Roozbeh Araghi, 38, and Gosford woman Cindy Low, 42, died in the tragedy.
The Bulletin revealed the pump malfunction as the cause, and in a special report detailed how safety concerns had surfaced four years earlier.
FIRST RESPONDER’S MESSAGE TO DREAMWORLD FAMILIES
Fresh documents detailing notes from interviews and emails with staff show an offsite meeting chaired by Arden Leisure’s chief audit officer was held at Hope Island in late April.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland said it had received a complaint last month about a range of alleged issues at Dreamworld, and an inspector and engineer attended the theme park to investigate.
“No contraventions of WHS legislation were identified and the investigation into the alleged issues has concluded,” the spokesperson said.
But the Bulletin has been told the investigation did not consider cultural and management issues.
Dreamworld yesterday issued a statement indicating the theme park would “continue to co-operate with the Coroner and those assisting him”.
A Dreamworld spokesman said the theme park was not in a position to provide information which may be dealt with by the inquiry.
“Every complaint relating in any way to a safety matter is fully investigated. Where appropriate external advice is sought to ensure every safety complaint is dealt with thoroughly,” the spokesperson said.
AWU acting branch secretary Steve Baker said union members were concerned about Dreamworld’s approach to safety matters. Documents were provided to police for the Coroner.
“A major concern has been a culture of secrecy in the behaviour of Dreamworld management,” Mr Baker said.
“Whenever the union sought documentation from Dreamworld regarding safety issues, these requests were refused by management. This meant the union had to pursue matters through other means including Right to Information.”
At April’s safety audit meeting, some staff said some managers were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
“I get asked by every second guest was I there on the day. It is referred to as ‘the incident’. The effects of this incident are still being felt among the staff,” a staffer said.
Aquatics at the park had staged incident response training in a room so as “to not be visible because of sensitivities”.
A plan for a major health and safety training day at the water park was abandoned after the Rapids Ride tragedy.
“They said it was too fresh, we shouldn’t be doing CPR, it will harm others in the park,” a Dreamworld source said. “The lifeguards needed that training. We now know these events are real and can happen.”
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Despite rides being deemed safe and passing engineer testing, some staff were reluctant to be operators.
“I know people who refuse to operate,” another Dreamworld source said. “I know some who say it took me three years to get Rapids, now they (newer employees) are getting high-level rides in 18 months.”
Another theme park insider told the Bulletin: “The staff are committed, dedicated and professional. They were pushed down and out.
“A number of people who were first responders — they’re gone. They saw the clinicians being decimated and decrease with expertise.”
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