Dreamworld victim’s relatives faced wall of silence from police and park

THE families of the Dreamworld victims say they faced a wall of silence from police in the aftermath, and resorted to calling triple-0 to get answers.

Simon Araghi, brother of Roozi Araghi, who was killed at Dreamworld. Picture: Channel 10

RELATIVES of the four people who died at Dreamworld say they were kept in the dark by police and the theme park’s owners after the tragedy.

The brother of victim Roozi Araghi said that no one contacted the family, and they became so desperate for answers they resorted to calling triple-0 to try to speak to someone.

“We had three of us on hold for well over an hour,” Simon Araghi told ABC radio this morning.

He said he still hadn’t heard from the authorities on Thursday night, two days after the horrific incident that killed Roozi, his partner Luke Dorsett, Luke’s sister Kate Goodchild and New Zealander Cindy Low.

Deborah Thomas, CEO of Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure, got in touch with the Araghis on Thursday, the day she was called out by a furious Dorsett family for not contacting them.

But Simon said the family did not really want to talk by then.

“I finally got a call wanting to discuss things and offering their support, but I told them we don’t want to discuss it,” he said. “I would have preferred the call a lot earlier.

“They apologised and I think wanted to see if they can work through things with us privately, but to be honest it’s not really on our radar.”

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

Ms Thomas finally called the Dorsetts after she was put on the spot in front of the media at Ardent’s annual general meeting.

After announcing that she had “reached out to the families” and “offered every assistance” to the Dorsetts, Ten News reporter Melinda Nucifora broke in.

“The Dorsett family are actually watching this press conference at the moment, and they are apparently furious at suggestions that support has been offered to them,” she said.

“They say that they’ve had no direct contact whatsoever. No one’s even reached out to them.”

The reporter said Kim Dorsett, Luke and Kate’s mother, had sent through a mobile phone number asking if somebody from Ardent could please call her.

Ms Thomas was defensive and said her company had made attempts to get in touch.

“We didn’t call the Dorsett family directly because we didn’t know how to contact them, so we have been to the police liaison officer,” she said.

“I will not call her now in front of the media, but I am very happy to call her very soon after this meeting.”

The call was made to the family and the offer made to cover all funeral costs. Ms Thomas also announced that she would give her cash bonus of $167,500 to the Australian Red Cross.

But was it too little, too late?

Deborah Thomas, CEO of Ardent Leisure which operates Dreamworld, was fiercely criticised over her bonus and for not immediately contacting the families. Picture: William West

Dreamworld has faced severe criticism following the tragedy. Visitors and former employees have claimed the theme park was in poor condition, with rust and cracks visible on rides and regular breakdowns. Several described getting stuck on Thunder River Rapids in similar circumstances to those that led to Tuesday’s tragedy.

It also emerged that Ardent had sought to block the release of 143 pages of information relating to ride safety and inspections earlier this year. These detailed more than 12 complaints, injury reports and maintenance concerns from 2010 to 2016 including a claim the deadly ride was “not fit for service”.

Ardent was also attacked for its plan to partially reopen Dreamworld for a memorial day today. The opening was cancelled late yesterday after police raised concerns about allowing the public into the park, just metres from the crime scene around the ride where officers are still investigating.

Outgoing Ardent chairman Neil Balnaves insisted at Thursday’s meeting it was “better that people get back to work”, and that plans were driven by the “utmost respect” for the families, adding: “We can’t return the four lives.”

The theme park will now remain closed until at least Monday, when Dreamworld will provide an update on when it will reopen.

Other visitors say they had recently been trapped after issues on the deadly Thunder River Rapids ride. Picture: Dan Peled/AAP

Ms Thomas’ announcement and calls to the families came after outrage built throughout Thursday when it emerged that Ardent — owners of Dreamworld — would pay Ms Thomas nearly $850,000 in bonuses.

Ms Thomas refused to answer questions about her bonus, with Mr Balnaves defending the decision.

The company rejected calls from shareholders to defer voting on remuneration payments even though proxy voting closed on Tuesday morning before accident.

Shareholders approved the issue of two sets of performance bonuses for Ms Thomas worth nearly $843,000, consisting of a long-term incentive of $508,000 and short-term incentive based on the financial year just gone of $167,500 each in cash and shares.

Australian Shareholders’ Association director Alan Golden said the short-term incentive, which consisted of 50 per cent cash and 50 per cent deferred shares, should have been be reconsidered.

“The short-term incentive in particular does have a safety component and should be looked at,” he said. “What she received was 100 per cent of her short-term incentive. That would mean everything was all good, it all worked.”

Dreamworld said in a statement: “Our deepest sympathies and heartfelt thoughts remain with the families and loved ones of the victims, the first responders on the scene, guests who were at the park and Dreamworld staff.

Flowers are laid outside Dreamworld, which cancelled its plans to reopen today after talks with police investigating the incident. Picture: Dave Hunt/AAP

“Park safety is our priority. Dreamworld would like to assure the public and park guests that at the time of the incident the park was fully compliant with all required safety certifications.

“We can assure you, the entire Dreamworld team is committed to working closely with the investigating authorities on all matters of safety, process and procedures relating to the incident.

“We support the Mayor and the Premier’s sentiment that we can leave no stone unturned. Safety of our guests, staff and wildlife is a core value of our business.

“We welcomed almost 1.8 million people to Dreamworld last financial year and prior to Tuesday there has never been a death at the park due to a ride incident, despite Dreamworld hosting more than 30 million visitors since it opened in 1981.

“This is largely due to our robust policies and procedures and our 1000 plus employees who are totally committed to guest services and guest safety. The importance of safety is inherent in all our operations and decisions at every level of the business.

“All our procedures and systems are constantly benchmarked against international best practice and ride manufacturer specifications.

“Our rides and slides are checked and tested by our experienced team before the park opens every day.

“If it’s not tested, it doesn’t open.”