Wellington council aware of danger before man's waterfront death - coroner

• A coroner has found there were not adequate safety measures on Wellington's waterfront to prevent the death of 30-year-old Sandy Calkin
• Calkin fell into the water off Queens Wharf and drowned after a night drinking with friends in July 2021
• Coroner Katharine Greig has urged the council to install permanent edge protection
• The council has accepted her findings and proposed spending more than $11m on the work
• Calkin's father, Roger Calkin says permanent balustrades will be his son's legacy

A coroner is urging Wellington City Council to spend the millions of dollars required to install permanent balustrades along the waterfront, following the accidental drowning of Sandy Calkin in 2021.

Sandy Calkin's father Roger Calkin said the balustrades would be his son's legacy - so no other family would have to suffer as his had.

The 30-year-old'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.

A coronial inquest into his death was held last year.

Coroner Katharine Greig's report - released on Tuesday - confirmed the cause of his death was accidental drowning, and found there were not adequate safety measures in place along the waterfront to prevent that.

She found Calkin may not have died if there were.

"At the time Sandy Calkin died, Council was aware that there were safety issues in the area where I have found that Sandy fell into the harbour and drowned - but had taken no steps to rectify the identified risks," Greig wrote.

Three safety reviews, in 2011, 2013 and 2016, identified more protection and lighting was required.

Some recommendations from those reports were implemented, but others were not, including a "plea" from architect and risk management specialist Dr Frank Stoks to prioritise edge protection, Greig said.

She found the council had favoured amenity and aesthetic considerations over safety.

Greig also found council's investigation and reporting of deaths and injuries on the waterfront was "woefully inadequate".

Among her recommendations were that the council should give "urgent priority" to edge protection and earmark money and resources to get the job done.

After Isaac Levings fell to his death in the harbour in 2023, the council installed temporary safety fencing in some areas.

But it told the inquest it would be years before a permanent solution was found, with funding not yet approved.

During the inquest, the council had accepted there were inadequate safety measures on the waterfront, and that Calkin's death sparked a renewed focus on improving this through the 'Waterfront Safety Enhancement Programme'.

Grieving father will 'keep fighting'

Roger Calkin said Greig's findings justified everything he had been fighting for over the past three and a half years.

But he did not have faith that the council would install permanent edge protection along the waterfront.

"I obviously think they would be crazy not to, given the coroner's findings," he said.

It was disappointing to learn the council had not done enough to mitigate the risks they knew existed before his son's death, he said.

"I'll keep fighting to have the balustrading put in, because that Sandy's legacy," he said.

"My family are trying to move forward... with our lives, but you never get over something like this."

Multiple deaths on Wellington's waterfront, none recorded or investigated

Greig said the council's attitude towards looking into and learning from deaths and injuries on the waterfront was "astonishing".

Between August 2006 and April 2023, seven people died after falling into the water on the capital's waterfront. Six of those were at night, and all of them had been drinking alcohol.

There were also 17 people who accidentally fell into the water, but survived.

"This data shows that for a number of years before Sandy's death council was, or should have been, on notice that people were at risk of dying on the waterfront by falling accidentally into the water," Greig said.

None of the deaths - Calkin's included - were recorded in its risk management system, and the council did not investigate any of them, seeing that as a matter for the police and the coroner.

Greig said the council acknowledged it made no effort to identify what it could learn from the drownings and how it could mitigate the risk.

"Council's approach has been to simply await the outcome of any external investigation," she said.

WCC responds

Wellington City Council accepted Greig's findings, said Mayor Tory Whanau.

She was heartened by the coroner's acknowledgement that the council had taken "positive steps" to improve safety since Calkin's death.

"We recognise that these actions cannot undo the past, but they represent our unwavering commitment to preventing future incidents," Whanau said.

Edge protection and lighting improvements were being prioritised as part of the council's waterfront safety programme, said acting chief executive James Roberts.

In the council's draft long term plan it proposed spending $11.1 million for permanent protection, pending public consultation. Officers would prepare a business case with several options to put to councillors in May, said Roberts.

"While a specific date is yet to be determined, public consultation on the edge protection options will be scheduled in due course, recognising the urgency of this work," he said.

Legislation lacking

There was no clear legal framework for public spaces like the waterfront, and experts noted a "lack of direction in the regulatory space", meaning council did not have clear guidance, Greig said.

That would have helped the council deal with waterfront safety, she said.

"A copy of these findings will be sent to the chief executives of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; Department of Internal Affairs; Local Government New Zealand, and Accident Compensation Corporation to draw attention to this issue."

Calkin's death

At the time of his death, Calkin was living at home with his parents and brother. He was home most evenings, but often went out for drinks on Thursdays and Fridays, Greig's report said.

That Friday, he had been at after work drinks, and was in a good mood, smiling and chatting.

He continued drinking in town with colleagues, who said he was moderately drunk, but "pretty happy and just his normal self".

Calkin left just after midnight, heading to the train station, and was last seen on CCTV about half an hour later walking on the waterfront.

His parents alerted the police when he did not return home, or to work on Monday.

The following Saturday, the Police National Dive Squad found Calkin's body a short distance away from where he was last seen.

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