The operators of jumping castles are calling for law reform to allow the inflatable amusements to be operated as safely as possible. They say a criminal court case over the 2021 hillcrest primary school accident that claimed six children’s lives has failed to provide legal clarity. And they and the families of the hillcrest victims want stronger, clearer safety laws to ensure there is never another tragedy like hillcrest.
00:00Russ Jackson was operating his business, House of Bounce, at a Tasmanian primary school on December 16, 2021,
00:10when news broke about a Jumping Castle accident at the nearby Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport.
00:16I think it was the principal came out and just said we had to let everything down, pack it up.
00:22There'd been an incident at Hillcrest.
00:25Six children died and three were seriously injured when the Jumping Castle they were playing on was blown across the Hillcrest School Oval by a freak wind event.
00:34Soon after, Jumping Castles were banned on public school grounds in Tasmania, Western Australia and the ACT,
00:41while other state and territory education departments tightened safety protocols.
00:46Tasmanian local governments also banned them on council-owned land.
00:50This forced Mr Jackson to close his business.
00:53Because of doubling insurance costs, it also prevented Bernie charity Ferry Godmothers from renting out its Jumping Castle, despite regular requests.
01:02It was a horrific event, you know, sort of, it's just impacted all kids' entertainment, it's not just the Jumping Castles.
01:12Earlier this year the owner of the Hillcrest Tragedy Jumping Castle was found not guilty of the criminal charge of failing in her work health and safety duty.
01:20The Magistrate said she could have done more to secure the castle, but because the wind was unpredictable, it would have made no difference to the ultimate outcome.
01:29Mr Jackson says he wants to see legislated standards for all operators that do ensure safety for families.
01:36I would like to see some sort of set of standards for operators across the board, but how that gets legislated I don't know.
01:49There are industry standards for Jumping Castle operators in Australia, but the Magistrate said they are complex and ambiguous and Ms Gamble was not legally required to comply with them.
02:00Families of the Hillcrest victims hope an upcoming inquest will result in legally binding safety rules.
02:07The family's lawyer says they want to see the coroner make recommendations to ensure no other family endures this pain.
02:14But with no timeline for the coroner's inquest, it's not clear how long the families may have to wait.
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