Inquest told ‘everybody failed’ in the lead up to ride tragedy after shocking day in court

EVERYBODY failed the four people who died on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, a Dreamworld maintenance planner told the inquest into their deaths.

EVERYBODY failed the four people who died on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, a Dreamworld maintenance planner told the inquest into their deaths.

Maintenance planner Grant Naumann made the shocking admission about safety on the first day the inquest resumed after a four-month break.

Mr Naumann also told the inquest yesterday repairs on rides were sometimes delayed due to budget concerns.

The inquest is examining what happened 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 on October 25, 2016.

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.

Mr Naumann yesterday answered questions about safety processes and procedures followed in the maintenance of rides at Dreamworld.

Counsel assisting the coroner Ken Fleming asked: “Whose job was it to determine the safety of a ride like this?”

“Everybody’s,” Mr Naumann replied.

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Mr Fleming questioned him again: “Are you then saying there has been a total failure by everybody in determining the safety issues of this ride?”

“In hindsight, yes,” Mr Naumann replied.

The bombshell was one of a string of revelations made in the Coroner’s Court of Queensland at Southport yesterday when Mr Naumann and Dreamworld maintenance staff Stephen Murphy and Gen Cruz took the stand.

Dreamworld maintenance planner Grant Naumann leaves the Southport Courthouse after giving evidence in the Dreamworld inquest. Picture: AAP

The revelations include:

● Some ride repairs were delayed for budget reasons;

● Maintenance staff never checked an “emergency stop button” on the ride’s control panel because he did not know what it did;

● Risk assessments were not done during the annual maintenance shut down;

● A work order for the 2017 annual maintenance on the Thunder River Rapids Ride shut down was made the day after the tragedy;

● An engineer hired to conduct maintenance audits had not yet reached the Thunder River Rapids Ride.

Mr Naumann told the inquest repairs could be delayed.

“There were discussions as to the cost of repairs or replacements and if it could be deferred as to a time it would better fit the budget,” he said.

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A transcript of an interview between Mr Naumann and Workplace Health and Safety investigators revealed the Thunder River Rapids Ride was corroded in some place.

“It was probably duly noted and, and scheduled for corrective action when, when it could be done and could be afforded to be done,” Mr Naumann said in the interview.

Mr Naumann said he had overseen the ride’s annual maintenance in April and May 2016 when the ride’s conveyor was completely taken apart to replace the chain and fix any damaged planks.

Maintenance supervisor Stephen Murphy told the inquest he checked the planks regularly as a part of pre-start checks.

Dreamworld maintenance supervisor Stephen Murphy said he did not know what an emergency stop button did. Picture: AAP

As a part of those checks he used one of the emergency stop buttons but he did not test the emergency stop button on the operator’s control panel.

He said he did not know what it did.

“That is not a part of my pre-operational checks,” he said.

Dreamworld junior engineer Gen Cruz told the inquest he believed he was the only person working at the park with engineering qualifications.

When he was hired in 2014 he was tasked with conducting a maintenance audit on all rides. He never got to the Thunder River Rapids Ride.

“The Rapid Ride is a class-two ride … and I had been instructed to prioritise the big nine rides and I had done half of those and (I was) to prioritise the rides with a higher classification number. The Thunder River Rapids Ride is close to the bottom,” he said.

Mr Cruz said the audit was to get missing documents including manuals and safety bulletins.

He agreed proper maintenance could not be done without those documents.

Mr Cruz will continue to give evidence this morning.