Minister calls for balcony inquiry

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is investigating the balcony collapse in Dunedin on 4 March that injured 18 people ,two seriously

The balcony collapsed during a Six60 concert held in the heart of Dunedin’s student living stronghold on Castle St. Around 1,500 people were said to be in attendance, with many crowding onto nearby balconies and roofs to get a better view of the show in the street below.

The balcony in question is cantilevered and reports indicate around 16 – 20 people had crowded onto it before it collapsed. NZ Police are not launching a criminal investigation and WorkSafe New Zealand has ruled out an inquiry, but Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith has asked MBIE to investigate and prepare a report on the incident.

“We need to establish whether the balcony that collapsed was up to the standards required by law under the Building Code. Structural failure of buildings are rare in New Zealand, but every incident of this sort needs to be thoroughly investigated to establish whether there were failings and whether our building systems are working as they should,” said Dr Smith.

“The investigation needs to look into whether the design, construction and maintenance of the balcony was up to the required standard, and to establish why it collapsed. It is possible that the balcony did meet standards but that the loading from the large number of students on it was in excess of Building Code limits. I am open to all possibilities but want to ensure we do everything possible to avoid these sorts of building accidents.”

The Minister expected that a preliminary report on the balcony collapse would have been completed by the end of March.