13 October 2025
TEL +64 4 473 0111
Level 11,1 Grey Street, Wel ington 6011
PO Box 25620, Wel ington 6140
Marie
New Zealand
[email address]
Our ref: F37518
By email
Dear Marie
Response to request for prosecution information
I refer to your request to Maritime NZ on 15 September 2025 as follows:
“1. Please provide all communications, documents etc that resulted in the Waitara driver not
being prosecuted for this fatal accident.
2. Please provide all communications and documents used to ensure consistency in prosecution
decisions within MNZ. ie; not prosecuting a fatal incident yet prosecuting a minor injury incident
where the victim was mates with the Maritime NZ officer who led the investigation and
recommended the prosecutions.
3. In the last 10 years how many fatal recreational incidents have occurred where the driver of
the vessel survived? How many of those drivers involved in a fatal recreational incident were
prosecuted in the 10 years.
4. How many formal investigations have been launched for recreational incidents under the
jurisdiction of the Invercargil Maritime office in the last 10 years.
5. How many people have been prosecuted as a result of recreational incident investigations
undertaken by the MNZ Invercargil office in the last 10 years. How many of those prosecutions
were of people involved in fatal incidents.”
We have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) and our
responses are as follows.
1. Please provide all communications, documents etc that resulted in the Waitara driver not
being prosecuted for this fatal accident.
NZ Police led the investigation into the Waitara fatality, therefore the decision regarding whether to
prosecute was theirs to make. We are refusing this question under s18(e) of the Act as the
document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist.
2. Please provide all communications and documents used to ensure consistency in
prosecution decisions within MNZ. ie; not prosecuting a fatal incident yet prosecuting a minor
injury incident where the victim was mates with the Maritime NZ officer who led the
investigation and recommended the prosecutions.
This material has been provided to you previously. I refer you to the answer to question 4 of
Maritime NZ’s response sent to you on 9 November 2023 (our reference F33353).
3. In the last 10 years how many fatal recreational incidents have occurred where the driver of
the vessel survived? How many of those drivers involved in a fatal recreational incident were
prosecuted in the 10 years.
Between 1/07/2015 and 1/07/2025 (10 years to the most current data date) there were 148 fatal
recreational craft accidents resulting in 162 deaths or persons missing presumed dead.
Of these, 33 accidents were known to have had the master survive.
Prosecutions were taken in seven of these cases, three of which were taken by NZ Police.
3. How many formal investigations have been launched for recreational incidents under the
jurisdiction of the Invercargil Maritime office in the last 10 years.
The Maritime NZ Invercargil office has investigated 27 recreational incidents.
5. How many people have been prosecuted as a result of recreational incident investigations
undertaken by the MNZ Invercargil office in the last 10 years. How many of those prosecutions
were of people involved in fatal incidents.”
There has been one person prosecuted; the incident did not involve a fatality.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
If you wish to discuss this decision, please feel free to email us at
[Maritime New Zealand request email]. Yours sincerely,
Christine Ross
Manager, Communication and Ministerial Services
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