Worksafe has revealed that the owners of Whakaari / White Island were making $1 million in profit a year before the volcano erupted in 2019.
"Whakaari Management Limited profited from every single tourist taken to Whakaari. By 2019 WML was making approximately $1million profit per year. Overheads were minimal."
WorkSafe prosecutor Kristy McDonald KC opened the regulator's case in the Auckland District Court against six defendants on health and safety charges.
Whakaari Management Limited, Peter, James and Andrew Buttle, ID Tours New Zealand Limited and Tauranga Tourism Services Limited are defending the charges.
The court heard Whakaari Management Limited had also explored the possibility of overnight stays, including glamping, on the island. (Source: 1News)
McDonald revealed that in 2018 Whakaari Managment Limited "explored options to increase tourism to Whakaari including overnight camping, glamping, and installation of overnight huts on Whakaari".
In a slow and deliberate manner McDonald set out the how the eruption changed so many lives at 2.11pm on December 9, 2019.
McDonald warned parts of her address would be distressing. Twenty-two people died and 25 were seriously injured.
"People talk about visiting the island. The reality is that the tourists were going into the crater of an active volcano," she said.
"The impact of this tragedy on the victims, their families, the rescue and recovery group, cannot be understated. The erupting column collapsed in on itself resulting in a flow of burning hot ash. Scolding hot steam. Poisonous volcanic ashes and rocks projected across the crater floor."
McDonald said profits should never come before safety.
"WML was obliged to understand the risks of what it was doing. It never bothered to understand the risks properly. Nor did it adequately consult as it should have with others who did understand the risk."
She also said WML did not want to pay a fee to get a risk assessment from GNS volcanologists.
The opening is expected to take all day.
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