Two businesses have been ordered to pay more than $300,000 in fines and reparation after a forestry subcontractor was killed while felling trees in rural south-east Auckland.
Misha Tremel was felling trees on a small block in Clevedon in June 2022 when he died in an accident.
The 39-year-old, originally from Ukraine, had been brought in by Turoa Logging Limited, which was harvesting 7800 tonnes of pine on behalf of forest managers Pulley Contracting Limited.
Tremel was manually cutting the trees, despite them being windthrown – meaning they had been bent and damaged by wind. It is strongly recommended that windthrown trees are harvested using machines.
An investigation by WorkSafe found Turoa Logging had not properly reassessed its harvesting plan after nearby trees were cut by machinery. It also failed to ensure safe felling practices were followed.
It also found Pulley Contracting did not do enough to identify the ongoing risks to workers and should have been auditing Turoa Logging more thoroughly.
“Businesses must manage their risks and cannot contract their way out of responsibility. Contractors on smaller sites like this are owed the same level of care as those in large-scale operations,” WorkSafe area investigation manager Paul West said.
“Businesses must consult, cooperate, and coordinate as part of a contracting chain. WorkSafe recommends health and safety is always built into contract management.”
Tremel was a husband and father.
“His death continues to be a shattering loss for his young family to process.”
Turoa Logging and Pulley Contracting were ordered to pay a combined total of $335,680 in fines and reparation after they were sentenced in the Manukau District Court on March 4. The maximum penalty is $1.5 million.
Forestry had the highest fatality rate of any sector in 2024, with 16.58 deaths per 100,000 workers.