Hillcrest Verdict Reaction

The parents of the Hillcrest victims have spoken outside of Devonport court following the not guilty verdict.

Transcript

00:00The operator of the Jumping Castle at the centre of the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy has today

00:05been found not guilty of failing to comply with her health and safety duty. Six children died

00:10and three others were seriously injured when the Jumping Castle at their primary school became

00:14airborne in Devonport in December 2021. Rosemary Ann Gamble, the owner of the inflatables company

00:20Taz Zorb, faced a two-week criminal hearing in the Devonport Magistrates Court in November

00:25after pleading not guilty to the charge. Today, Magistrate Robert Webster found that the charge

00:31against her had not been proven and said that she was free to leave. After the decision was handed

00:37down, Georgie Burt, the mother of Zane Mellor who was killed in the incident, said the outcome of

00:42the criminal proceedings did not reflect the weight of the family's loss. She said,

00:47I am deeply disappointed in the Tasmanian justice system. Peter Dot's father, Andrew, also said that

00:53he felt broken. Here's more of what he had to say.

00:56It's been a long time and I think I'm going to be broken for a long morning.

01:02I really, I don't know how I feel, I don't know what to say.

01:09But I thank you for walking the path with us. It was a very long path and I think we've still

01:15got a long way to go. That's it. What's your hope comes out of the colonial

01:22in the past? I'm not quite sure. I think our hope's just shattered now.

01:33At the end of the day, all I wanted was an apology for my son not coming home and I'm never going to

01:39get it. And that killed me. Sorry. Thank you.