Alice Springs ballooning company to be prosecuted over 2013 death
THE High Court has cleared the way for an Alice Springs hot air balloon company to be prosecuted over the 2013 death of Sydney tourist Stephanie Bernoth.
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THE High Court has cleared the way for an Alice Springs hot air balloon company to be prosecuted over the 2013 death of Sydney tourist Stephanie Bernoth.
Ms Bernoth, 35, was on a holiday in July 2013 with her partner and was about to board a balloon ride when her scarf became entangled in a large inflation fan, resulting in injuries from which she later died.
In 2015, the Alice Springs Magistrates Court ruled NT WorkSafe — formally known as the Work Health Authority — could not prosecute the company, Outback Ballooning, because Commonwealth air safety regulation “covered the field” of air safety, preventing the Northern Territory authorities from prosecuting under workplace safety laws.
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The High Court decision — which followed a judicial review hearing in the Supreme Court and an appeal in the Northern Territory Court of Appeal — was handed down on Wednesday morning in Canberra, and allows NT WorkSafe to resume its prosecution of Outback Ballooning for failure to ensure workplace safety.
The company, if found guilty, faces a fine of up to $1.5 million, although fines for companies whose workers have died after an employer’s failure to comply with workplace safety obligations have typically been around $150,000 to $200,000.
Five of the seven High Court judges found the Commonwealth Civil Aviation Act was “designed to operate within the framework of other State, Territory and Commonwealth laws” including the Northern Territory Work Health and Safety Act.
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Justice Stephen Gageler also allowed the appeal, but for different reasons, while Justice James Edelman dissented, saying the appeal should be dismissed.
NT WorkSafe claims the balloon company failed to warn passengers about the risk of loose clothing, scarfs and long hair and should have set up a barrier around the large fan used to inflate the balloon.
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