9 July 2025

Courts have imposed more than $800,000 in penalties since mid-March, in response to workers being killed on unsafe conveyor belts in the manufacturing industry.

Timaru director Sean Sloper and his company Point Lumber Limited are the latest to be jointly sentenced over the death of a young worker, Ethyn McTier. The 23-year-old was working near a conveyor belt, when he became entrapped in its drive roller in November 2022.

WorkSafe’s investigation found there was no guarding to protect workers along the length of the conveyor belt, or in the area where the victim was drawn in, nor had a risk assessment been done. A range of other machine safety defects were also found onsite. Point Lumber also failed to follow a safety consultant’s recommendation to safeguard the conveyor back in 2017. Mr Sloper had overall control of the company, and determined what hazard mitigation was prioritised, what was completed and when.

The Timaru case has concluded after the recent sentencing of Ballance Agri-Nutrients, which also had a worker killed on a conveyor belt in Mt Maunganui.

“Endangering workers in this way is careless in the extreme, because these deaths were clearly preventable. In no way is it acceptable to be able to be killed at work on a conveyor belt,” says WorkSafe’s acting regional manager, Darren Handforth.

“The manufacturing sector must seize these two deadly incidents as a watershed moment for health and safety. We implore businesses to ensure their machine guarding meets safety standards. If necessary, engage a qualified expert to ensure your machinery is adequately guarded to avoid inflicting further tragedy on other families,” says Darren Handforth.

Guarding involves installing physical barriers and/or safety devices to prevent workers from accessing exposed moving parts on machinery.

Manufacturing is a focus of WorkSafe’s new strategy because there is persistent harm in the sector. In March this year, we conducted 304 proactive assessments nationwide in the sector and issued improvement notices in 67 percent of them – signalling the progress left to make by the industry.

Businesses must manage their risks and where they don't, WorkSafe will take action. This is part of WorkSafe’s role to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe.

• Read about the sentencing of Ballance Agri-Nutrients
• Read about WorkSafe's prior prosecution of Point Lumber
• Read about guarding of conveyors

Statement from Ethyn McTier’s family

Today marks the end of a very long and difficult legal process, which our family has endured for over two years now. We are thankful for the outcome, and that Point Lumber and Sean Sloper have been held accountable for Ethyn’s death. But at the end of the day, we’ve lost someone who was a pillar in our family and the hole that has been left in our lives is immeasurable. Ethyn was only 23 years old, he had his whole life ahead of him, and his death was 100% preventable.

We just hope this serves as a warning to other employers to take workplace safety more seriously, as their decisions and actions/or lack thereof could mean the difference between life and death for someone else’s son or daughter, brother or sister and no family should ever have to go through the pain and loss we have experienced.

Background

• Point Lumber Limited and its director Sean Sloper were sentenced in a reserved decision of the Timaru District Court on 7 July 2025.
• Fines of $250,000 were imposed for Point Lumber Limited, and $60,000 for Mr Sloper.
• Reparations of $140,000 were also ordered ($20,000 of which had been paid prior to sentencing).
• Point Lumber Limited was charged under sections 36(1)(a) and 48(1) and 48(2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
  • Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, including Ethyn Bruce McTier, while the workers are at work in the business or undertaking, namely cleaning the waste belt conveyor (also known as the big black belt conveyor), did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed the workers to risk of death or serious injury.
• Sean David Sloper was charged under sections 44(1), 48(1) and 48(2)(b) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
  • Being an officer of a PCBU, namely the sole director of Point Lumber Limited, having a duty to exercise due diligence to ensure Point Lumber Limited complied with its duty to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who worked for Point Lumber Limited, while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed Point Lumber Limited’s workers, including Ethyn Bruce McTier, to a risk of death or serious injury.
• The maximum penalty for Point Lumber was a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.
• The maximum penalty for Sean Sloper was a fine not exceeding $300,000.