The agencies responsible for safety standards at Loafers Lodge had "longstanding" failings that contributed to the deaths of five men in 2023, a court has heard.
By James Fleury and Reuben Smith
Four people are facing manslaughter charges over the fatal fire, with their trial beginning yesterday at the High Court in Wellington.
Loafers Lodge director Gregory Mein, property manager Marie Murphy, fire warden and resident Glenn McAllister, and another resident who worked on site, Barry Collins, have all pleaded not guilty.
The five men who died in the May 2023 fire were Michael Wahrlich, also known as Mike the Juggler, 67; Melvin Parun, 68; Kenneth Barnard, 67; Peter O’Sullivan, 64; and Liam Hockings, 50.
Esarona Lologa was found guilty of arson and murder for lighting the fire. He was sentenced to life in prison last December.
In opening statements today, lawyers for the four defendants took aim at agencies responsible for safety, as opposed to the accused.
"There were shocking and disturbing failings and wrongdoing, which was longstanding by agencies that had the responsibility to keep this building safe and to keep the people in it safe,” said Christopher Stephenson, who is representing Mein.
Stephenson said his client became director of the hostel temporarily to help a sick friend.
Murphy’s lawyer, Stephen Winter, told the court that his client went above and beyond her duties to care for residents.
"If the steps she had put in place to deal with fire safety had been implemented, those five men may well have lived," Winter said.
He also told the court that residents often drank and smoked in their rooms.
Val Nisbett, representing Collins, argued the resident – who had lived at the hostel for 10 years – felt pressured into the role of fire warden, despite having another job.
"His life was working, going to the gym and living at home. His responsibility wasn’t the welfare and the safety of his fellow flatmates, his fellow tenants," Nisbett said.
McAllister’s lawyer Alex Dye said his client had no power to improve the building’s fire safety systems in his role as fire warden.
First witness takes the stand
The jury was shown drone footage of the 92-bedroom building a day after the fire while Detective Sergeant Olivia Meares appeared as the first witness.
She gave evidence on the building’s layout and CCTV system.
Meares was in charge of the day-to-day management of the police investigation into the fire.
The 111 call made by McAllister on the night of the fire was also played to the court.
Jurors were expected to visit the site of the former hostel this week.
Over 120 witnesses will be called during the trial, which has been set down for eight weeks.
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