Corporate manslaughter Bill already on the cards

The Building and Construction Minister, Maurice Williamson's, commitment to consider new laws around corporate manslaughter is an encouraging sign that the government may finally be taking the issue seriously, Labour’s Justice spokesperson Andrew Little says.

The move follows confirmation from the Institute of Professional Engineers that it has no power to take action against the designers of the flawed Canterbury Television building, which collapsed and killed 115 people.

Mr Little, who has a member's Bill in the ballot that creates a crime of corporate manslaughter, said that too often no-one is held responsible for acts of obvious gross negligence.

“And that is not good enough. In large and complex organisations it's easy for large numbers of people to be involved in a negligently run project with no one person left holding the smoking gun.

"A corporate manslaughter law means systemic failure can be called to account.

"I would be happy to work with Maurice Williamson and the Minister of Justice to formulate suitable legislation."

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