Sandy Calkin was 30 when he died. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
Wellington City Council's response to deaths and incidents on the capital's waterfront promenade has come under fire in Wellington District Court.
Witnesses from the police and council testified before the first day of the coroner's inquest into the death of Wellington man Sandy Calkin, 30.
Calkin's body was found in Wellington harbour a week after he was last seen walking on Queens Wharf after a night drinking with friends in the city's party district in July 2021.
Calkin's mother, Maria Calkin, said her son's death had had a "devastating effect" on her and her family.
She said she hoped the inquest would lead to improved safety measures along the waterfront where another person - teacher Isaac Levings - had also died in the years since Calkin's death.
Detective constable Simon Cobb said Calkin was last captured by CCTV cameras walking along the wharf towards the railway station - as he passed the northern end of the Crab Shack restaurant.
Detective constable Simon Cobb. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Cobb said Calkin's route was dark and featured a variety of low wooden seats and tripping hazards that could be dangerous - even in daylight.
He said police had no found suspicious circumstances in Calkin's death and that he "appears to have fallen in the water and been unable to make his way to safety".
Calkin's father, Roger Calkin, said he was shocked to learn that a council document listing 13 waterfront incidents over seven years failed to include five deaths in the area - including his son's.
"That's my concern is that it takes a member of the public - who's tragically lost a son - to put all this information together and go 'Hey what are you going to do about it?'," Roger Calkin said.
Roger Calkin said the council's focus on lighting in the area failed to recognise the risks caused by a lack of safe fencing about the busy thoroughfare.
Wellington City Council's parks, sports and recreation manager Paul Andrews said internal safety reporting systems did not record Calkin's death as it was considered a police and coronial matter.
Wellington City Council's parks, sports and recreation manager Paul Andrews. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
He said the council was only likely to investigate incidents on the waterfront if it was apparent council infrastructure had failed.
Andrews conceded that - in the decades following the the area's evolution from industrial zone to public thoroughfare - the council's framework for the area had not prioritised safety.
He agreed with counsel for the coroner Josh Shaw that - of a recently compiled list of 13 incidents occurring in the area since the death of Finbarr Clabby, who died after falling into the harbour in 2015, only two had any recommendations of action recorded in response.
He said the council was committed to learning from Calkin's death and a "significant programme of work" had been instigated in 2022 underway to enhance safety in the area.
Andrews said the council was currently assessing up to 3.5 kilometres of the waterfront for edge protection where a fall of over a metre onto water or hard surfaces could occur.
He said the council had recognised, in a 2005 strategy, the need to upgrade the lighting of the area and over the last 18 months, work had been underway to illuminate the promenade route that Calkin walked.
Andrews said despite still being in assessment and planning stages, protecting the waterfront promenade from fall hazards was likely to exceed the $6 million put aside to upgrade lighting and balustrades in the area.
Coroner Katharine Greig. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
He said once the council funding and approval was in place, initiatives to protect the edges of the wharf from falls would be likely to take more than three years to put in place.
During Andrews' testimony, Shaw showed a 2016 report into the death of Clabby where coroner Tim Scott issued a plea to the council to "to progress design solutions to resolve the conflict between safety from falling, urban design/amenity objectives and legal compliance/due diligence where required".
As members of Calkin's family looked on, Andrews acknowledged the council could have done better to follow up recommendations from previous incidents.
"We will have spine lighting and corrective routes relit by this time next year... and the edge protection is well advanced. This is a definite step change from previous," Andrews said.
