Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is refusing to join the chorus of calls for Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson to go following a damning report into health and safety.
Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson is facing intense pressure to resign. Photo: RNZ / Todd Niall
Goff says only the board has power to sack Tony Gibson and he was confident the board would exercise proper oversight and governance by ensuring recommendations of the independent report were implemented.
If the board failed to do so, its members would be replaced, he added.
"If they don't do that, that is when I and council do have the power to change the membership of the port's board and we are in the process of refreshing that right now. We've already started that process," Goff told Morning Report.
The review, conducted by Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ), recommended new requirements for the port's chief executive to prioritise safety over productivity and profitability, improve trust and communication between management and staff, and for a new health and safety manager to report directly to the chief executive and the Board.
Goff said the board would be sending regular updates to Auckland council on progress made on changing corporate culture and that these would be made public, to make the board more accountable.
"I don't have confidence on how the issue has been handled in the past, I do have confidence now that the board have accepted they had a very poor culture of health and safety.
"They have accepted fully the recommendations made by the independent review and it's not just about having confidence or faith that they'll do it.
"I have asked that we receive regular reports from the port's board on what steps they'll taken to implement those recommendations, what progress they've made."
Yesterday several Auckland city councillors joined calls for new leadership at the Ports of Auckland.
Auckland Councillor, Chris Darby Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Auckland councillor Chris Darby spoke to the port's board at a meeting last week.
He said management had not impressed and that Gibson needed to be fired.
"There was a lack of answers and a dearth of leadership at the port and I stand back that and we need to go and find new leadership at the port," he said.
The Maritime Union also demanded Gibson go as the first step to removing barriers to change at the port.
Port management and the union have had a fraught relationship over several years, something Goff yesterday called 'dysfunctional'.
The council-owned Ports have been the site of three deaths and several serious injuries in the last three years.
Tua Dyer's brother Laboom Dyer was one of two people killed in an accident at the Ports in 2018. His brother Tua Dyer also said Gibson was clearly not the person to turn things around.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff talking about the Ports of Auckland safety review. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro
Goff said he wasn't surprised by the findings of the report. He said the death of swimmer Leslie Gelberger, hit by a harbour pilot boat going seven times the speed limit in April 2017, and Maritime NZ's report into the incident, pointed systemic problems that needed addressed.
Gibson yesterday said he hadn't been aware of those systemic problems and that the report had been helpful in that respect.
Goff said he was "staggered by the statement".
"I had read the report by Maritime New Zealand and he would have too. He would have read the report by WorkSafe New Zealand on the death of Laboom Dyer, both of those showed systemic problems.
"I've been pushing for some time with the chair and the chief executive of the port for action to be taken in this area."
He said Auckland Council had changed membership of the board and included Hazel Armstrong, a Wellington lawyer specialising in health and safety.
He said only the Ports' board had power to sack Gibson and refused to call for him to go.
