The families of the men who lost their lives in last year’s severe Auckland weather want the response to the events investigated.
A scope hearing was held at Auckland District Court earlier today to decide what issues will be considered by the coroner looking into the deaths from Auckland Anniversary Weekend flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle.
A second hearing will be held next month at the Hastings District Court to address nine deaths linked to Cyclone Gabrielle in the region.
Four men died during the Auckland floods — Daniel Miller, Dave Young, Daniel Newth and Dave Lennard. Two volunteer Muriwai firefighters, Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg, died in a landslide two weeks later during Cyclone Gabrielle.
Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg were killed when a slip destroyed a house in the coastal Auckland community. (Source: 1News)
Some family members of the men were present in the public gallery during the hearing.
The family of Daniel Miller, who died while rescuing others in the North Shore’s Wairau Valley, submitted to Coroner Erin Woolley that the safety of manholes needed to be discussed in a coronial inquest.
Jane Glover, the lawyer representing the families, told the court Miller’s dad, Steve Miller, believes his son may not have died if he had not been sucked into an open manhole.
Steve Miller submitted that the cover of the manhole had not been secured and he worried that other manholes may also not be tightly secured.
Jane Young, the wife of retired high school teacher Dave Young, who was swept away by floodwaters in Onewhero, rural Waikato, submitted there had been “logistical and organisational issues” with the rescue effort.
Glover said Jane Young wanted to emphasise rescuers were “selfless and brave”, but those efforts were hampered by communication mix-ups including his missing persons case being mistakenly closed.
As Onewhero lies just over the border between Auckland and Waikato, Jane Young submitted they did not receive the same warnings about the flooding that those in Auckland did.
Lucy Stevens, the wife of firefighter Craig Stevens, who died in hospital in the days after being trapped in a landslide while investigating a flooded property, wanted the coroner to look at whether houses should have been built in that spot.
“She has unanswered questions about a malfunctioning MRI machine at the hospital and a delay in the treatment her husband received due to being transported by ambulance rather than helicopter due to the weather,” Glover said.
“To sum it up, the families want the inquest to look at the lack of warnings that were given, the search and rescue operations that took place and communication between organisations during the two events.”
The families also want the actions that could have been taken to mitigate the risks of flooding before the two events investigated.
A number of organisations were represented at the first hearing including Auckland Council, Fire and Emergency NZ, WorkSafe, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and police.
Coroner Woolley said a decision on what the inquest will cover will be issued after the Hastings scope hearing in mid-November.
She said it was likely an inquest would not begin until the second half of 2025.
rnz.co.nz