00:00An inflatables expert taking the stand on day five of the criminal hearing into a charge
00:08against the operator of a jumping castle that became airborne, killing six children and
00:14seriously injuring three at the Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport in 2021.
00:21Roderick MacDonald telling the Devonport Magistrates Court the jumping castle, the anchorage system
00:26and its operation were not up to Australian standards.
00:31The effect of that was the defeat of the anchorage system, he said, and that the setup was inconsistent.
00:37You don't just play with an engineered system. It's a bit like putting a seatbelt on. You
00:42put it on out of habit. You are consistent with it all of the time. They were changing
00:46the anchorage system as they felt.
00:49The castle's operator, Rosemary Gamble, has pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with
00:54a health and safety duty.
00:56The prosecution alleges she didn't use enough pegs to secure the castle to the ground.
01:01The defence argues she used the four pegs provided by the manufacturer, East Inflatables,
01:07and she sought assurance the castle met Australian standards at the time of purchase.
01:13The court also heard from a geotechnical engineer who said to access Australian standards for
01:18amusement devices, including inflatables, operators had to pay between $150 and $200,
01:26and that the standards needed to be revised to provide clearer guidance.
01:31This courtroom has seen a spectrum of emotions throughout this case, from sadness and despair
01:38to anger and disbelief. Today, as a video showing star pickets that could have been
01:43used being inserted into the ground, a mother left the courtroom saying, doesn't look that
01:48hard to get them in, does it?
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