One of New Zealand's largest zoos has contravened the Health and Safety at Work Act due to issues with its vehicles, according to a WorkSafe notice obtained by 1News.
Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park — home to 1000 animals across 90 species — has been ordered to improve its safety practices.
The order followed an earlier complaint from an anonymous informant. The letter to the Christchurch City Council in May was sent by someone claiming to be a current staff member and suggested there were dangerous vehicles on site.
WorkSafe assessors visited the park in June and found poor engagement with workers on health and safety and shortcomings on vehicle maintenance, the agency said in a statement.
A copy of an improvement notice obtained by 1News showed WorkSafe found Orana had "inadequate systems" to ensure its vehicles were maintained to be in safe working order.
Those breaches were serious enough to contravene the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the notice showed.
The park has been ordered to engage with its workers, put in controls to manage the risks, and make sure vehicles were used and maintained in a safe way.
A second notice was related to staff engagement processes.
The zoo's chief executive Lynn Anderson rejected suggestions the vehicles were unsafe after reading the anonymous complaint in May, telling 1News it contained "multiple unsubstantiated allegations".
"We strongly refute the contents of the letter in its entirety," she said at the time.
Later, 1News asked specific questions about the vehicles, and Anderson claimed on-site vehicles were subject to inspections by registered engineers.
'We take health and safety extremely seriously' — Orana Wildlife Park
Today, the zoo said it welcomed the "fresh eyes" of external audits.
It was introducing a "new and improved" health and safety committee which would include 50% or more non-management team members, a spokesperson said in a statement.
"We take any issues relating to health and safety extremely seriously and have welcomed the opportunity to make improvements to our systems and processes," they added.
"We strive for continuous improvement."
WorkSafe said its findings must be addressed by July 27 and it would revisit the park for a "targeted assessment".
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