Dreamworld inquest findings: Cindy Low’s brother slams Dreamworld as ‘money-driven cowboys’

The brother of one of the victims of the Thunder River Rapids disaster has come out swinging at Dreamworld for its handling of the tragedy, saying “I have lost so much due to these money-driven cowboys” before turning on his own family in an incredible spray.

CINDY Low’s brother Michael Cook has slammed Dreamworld for their handling of the ride tragedy that killed his sister, saying they only care about their “bottom dollar” not the families of the victims and calling them “money-driven cowboys”.

Mr Cook made the statements in the Queensland Coroners Court, which was sitting in Brisbane today and delivered scathing findings into the October 2016 Thunder River Rapids Ride tragedy that killed Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi.

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Mr Cook was one of several family members invited to make statements in the court this morning before the findings were handed down.

He said he heard about the tragedy on the news in New Zealand before, before realising it was his sister who had died.

Mr Cook said he has a fractured relationship with the rest of his sister’s family and the inquest sittings had forced him to be “around family members I don’t care to share my time with as well as lawyers, news reporters and witnesses”.

Michael Cook, brother of Cindy Low, holds a picture of her as he leaves the Magistrates Court in Brisbane. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)

He said after the tragedy where four people died, all Dreamworld cared about was “damage control”.

“I wanted them to portray that they actually cared about the families but it was just about saving face and it didn’t seem like they cared about anything that isn’t their bottom dollar,” Mr Cook said.

He later told the court: “The families have lost so much and all the while this giant company with all the money in the world are out spending millions of dollars to attract more customers.

“They are not interested in paying for counselling for me, I have lost so much. I have lost my sister, my support team, Cindy was always there when I needed someone to talk to. She just made our lives better,” he said.

Mr Cook said he had lost his partner of four years following his sister’s death and he had developed a “drinking problem and anger management issues” as a way of dealing with the grief.

Dreamworld victim Cindy Low.

His comments came as Ms Low’s husband told the coroner his wife had the “heart of a tiger”.

“She had the heart of a tiger – fierce and protective, soft and nurturing, stubborn and dogmatic… all of the best character trails rolled into a tiny 5-foot tall package,” Matthew Low said in his statement to the coroner.

“She had well and truly mastered the love of unconditional love and as a child she would tell her friends off for behaving poorly but would still love them.

Matthew Low, husband of Dreamworld tragedy victim Cindy Low. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)

“I think that she was just that way. She didn’t need for people to play up to her. She either loved you or not and was confident enough to decide for herself and behave accordingly.”

Kim Dorsett, the mother of Luke Dorsett and Kate Goodchild, told the inquest about her son and daughter and Mr Dorsett’s partner Roozi Araghi, who also died on the ride in October 2016.

“The three of them loved the theme parks on the Gold Coast, the scarier the ride the better,” she said.

“They visited Dreamworld three times in a week.

“I don’t know if these words convey a real snap shot of the lives lived with gusto and purpose.”

She said she had spoken to the Araghi family, who agreed the easiest part of the whole ordeal had been the funerals.

“We’ve concluded the easiest part of this time and the tragic accident was burying them,” she said.

“The horrendous legacy is living each day without them.”

Originally published as Dreamworld inquest findings: Cindy Low’s brother slams Dreamworld as ‘money-driven cowboys’