The company that owns Whakaari/ White Island has been found guilty on one of two health and safety charges relating to the fatal eruption in 2019.

The December 2019 eruption killed 22 people. WorkSafe had argued that Whakaari Management Limited was responsible for the safety of the island as a place of business.

In the culmination of a trial that started in July, Judge Evangelos Thomas today agreed, saying the company failed to meet its responsibilities as a workplace.

He dismissed one other charge laid by WorkSafe.

WorkSafe initially charged 13 parties following its investigation of the eruption, which killed 22 people and injured 25 others.

Since then, six have pleaded guilty and six more had their charges dismissed.

That included the island's owners: Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, who had their charges dismissed in September.

Their company, Whakaari Management, was the last party to receive its verdict.

WML's defence lawyer, James Cairney, argued during his closing statements last month that Whakaari Management was nothing more than a landowner.

"WorkSafe has established that Whakaari Management is not a passive landowner," says Judge Evangelos

"The relevant duty was for WML to ensure that the health and safety of persons it permitted to be on Whakaari was not put at risk."

He said Whakaari Management did not properly engage with experts and take the necessary steps to mitigate the risks associated with allowing tours on an active volcano.

"This was a major failure and amounts to a breach of its duty under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015."

Judge Thomas dismissed the second charge, which alleged that Whakaari Management had a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of workers and tourists.

"In a fundamental sense, WML did not influence or direct the tour operators activities while carrying out their work."

WorkSafe later clarified that it had filed the section 36 charge as an alternative - only seeking a conviction for one charge or the other, not both.

Since the charge under section 37 was successful, Judge Evangelos Thomas dismissed the charge under section 36

Whakaari Management will be sentenced alongside the six other guilty parties in February.

Judge Evangelos Thomas began today's proceedings by thanking survivors of the eruption who gave evidence during the lengthy trial.

Whakaari had been a popular tourist attraction before the eruption.

- RNZ