| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (28 min. 6 sec.) ; 168614906 bytes |
| Summary |
The Land of the Long White Cloud is now the Land of the Long Loud Scream. In a spectacularly successful marketing makeover, New Zealand has transformed itself into a magnet for thrill-seekers from all around the world, turning adrenalin into a billion dollar rush. If you want to throw yourself off things or out of things or into things that in turn roll, slide or fall from breathtaking heights - all in a setting of spectacular scenery - then this is the destination. But when things go wrong is New Zealand really the place to be?It would curl the furry toes of any hobbit and send Bilbo Baggins scurrying into Middle Earth in fright. The blood-curdling, expletive-laden screams reverberating throughout the stunning New Zealand country-side have become incessant. They're bellowing from the petrified insides of thousands of young adventure tourists like Scott Ashcroft. Scott may be terrified of heights but when his friends decided they were going to celebrate his 25th birthday by doing New Zealand's highest bungy jump what could he do? He jumped too. And when the bungy band bounced itself out and Scott realised he might have a shot at making his 26th birthday he was in an expansive mood. How was it? "Yeah, good.'"Everybody walks away feeling really good about themselves and ready to take on other challenges. Life is a big big challenge and if you take on some of these challenges the reward's huge'. AJ Hackett - NZ Bungy TrailblazerBut not everyone walks away from an adventure tourism experience in New Zealand. Over the past eight years at least 50 visitors have died when things went dreadfully wrong. Many more have suffered crippling injuries. Of course many of these white-knuckle pursuits are dangerous but is New Zealand doing enough to ensure that companies and individuals selling these thrills to a wide-eyed crowd are playing by the rule-book - and is that rule-book as comprehensive as it should be? Many think not. "My son's death was entirely preventable. It was not an accident. It was an inevitable certainty that that was going to happen". Chris Coker - Father of sky-diving plane crash victim BradChris Coker's 24 year old son Brad came all the way from the UK to throw himself out of a plane high over the Kiwi mountainside but that plane crashed shortly after take-off killing all nine on board. The loss of his son in the infamous Fox Glacier disaster has spurred Chris Coker into an internet campaign targeting New Zealand's unique compensation system."I really don't want another father in the world to get the knock on the door from the police to tell them their child's been killed. (but) It will happen again because of the law in NZ. The fact that you can't sue anybody for negligence or wrongful death (means) nobody is held to account." Chris CokerIn a forensic examination of New Zealand's adventure tourism industry and safety regime, correspondent Dominique Schwartz exposes significant flaws in regulation and safety awareness. She investigates the activities of a prominent ballooning operator with a troubling track record and hears evidence that NZ's taxpayer-funded accident compensation scheme may be enabling poor practice |
| Event |
Broadcast 2012-10-30 at 20:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: NC |
| Subject |
Compensation (Law) -- Taxation.
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Outdoor recreation -- Safety measures.
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Sports accidents.
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Sports and tourism.
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Tourism -- Standards.
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New Zealand.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Schwartz, Dominique, reporter
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Ashcroft, Scott, contributor
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Coker, Chris, contributor
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Jordan, Chris, contributor
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Kenny, Rex, contributor
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Keown, James, contributor
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Latham, Steven Foster, contributor
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McClelland, Ian, contributor
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Ragg, Dean, contributor
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Stacey, Martyn, contributor
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Watson, Susan, contributor
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