1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey. 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: It's Friday, January ninth, twenty twenty six. It's a climb 3 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: down of epic proportions. So why, through long weeks of 4 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: political damage, did it take Anthony Albanezi so long to 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: finally crumble to pressure from doctors, lawyers, community leaders, sporting 6 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: figures and all sides of politics and decide to have 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: a Royal commission into the Bondai massacre. 8 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 2: After all, in the days after the fourteenth of December, 9 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 2: we were very focused. I don't think you can argue 10 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 2: that some people were focused on political issues. You know, 11 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 2: the nation needs to come together when there has been 12 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 2: a national crisis in the past, whether it be the 13 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 2: Balley bombings which a whole lot of my constituents lost 14 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 2: their lives, whether it be the attack that occurred on 15 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 2: the Link Cafe in Sydney, whether it be Port Arthur. 16 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 2: There was no partisanship, no partisanship whatsoever. The country came together. 17 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 2: They offered their unity in moving forward. That is what 18 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 2: I have tried to do. I'd ask others to conduct 19 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 2: themselves in a similar manner. 20 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,559 Speaker 1: Right now at the Australian dot Com, you can read 21 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: all the nation's best analysis and the details of what 22 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 1: happens now. How could a cruise ship leave an elderly 23 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: lady to die? Suzanne Reese, aged eighty, perished after allegedly 24 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: being left on Lizard Island by the Coral Expedition's cruise 25 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 1: company in twenty twenty five. The same vessel later found 26 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: itself stuck on a reef of Australia's Northern Tip, and 27 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: cruise passengers were left wondering why. Nothing had apparently been 28 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: learned from the horror find deaths of two tourists that 29 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: were supposed to make adventures like this safer forever Today 30 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: the mystery of Suzanne Reese's death in Paradise. 31 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 3: An elderly woman has been found dead on the Great 32 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 3: Barrier reef's luxury Lizard Island after she was allegedly left 33 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 3: behind by a cruise ship. 34 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 2: The eighty year old cruise passenger who died after she 35 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 2: was left behind on a Queensland island has been identified 36 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 2: as Sydney woman Suzanne Reese. 37 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 4: The vessel was little over a week into what was 38 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 4: meant to be a two month circumnavigation of Australia. 39 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: It was like something out of the White Lotus, a 40 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: remote tropical paradise and a mysterious death. But the loss 41 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 1: of Suzanne Reese has left a family and an entire 42 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: industry reeling. The cruise ship's owner when I may hit 43 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: trouble again in December, when the same vessel got stuck 44 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: on a reef of Papua New Guinea. 45 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 5: From Papua New Guinea, the cruise liner struck a coral 46 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 5: reef on Saturday morning, leaving eighty passengers and forty three 47 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 5: crew members stranded around ninety kilometers off shore. 48 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 1: Sarah Elks is a senior journalist with The Australian. Sara, 49 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: how did you first hear about the Lizard Island cruise death? 50 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 4: So I heard from a source early one morning that 51 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 4: a passenger of a cruise ship in far North Queensland 52 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 4: and on the Great Barrier Reef was missing. Initially I 53 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 4: thought it was another situation like the Lonigans, the American 54 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 4: couple who had been left behind while they were scuba 55 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 4: diving on the Great Barrier Reef in the nineteen nineties, 56 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 4: which was a horrific case. We soon realized that it 57 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 4: was not quite like that. What had happened was that 58 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 4: a luxury cruise ship had actually left a passenger behind 59 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 4: on remote Lizard Island, and they hadn't realized that they 60 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 4: had left her behind after a day trip shockingly, and 61 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 4: it was only after she didn't turn up for dinner 62 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 4: on the ship that we understand. Fellow passengers raised the 63 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 4: alarm and the ship initially thought she may have fallen overboard. 64 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,599 Speaker 4: They did a search, They searched the ship, they searched 65 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 4: the waters immediately surrounding and then they put in a 66 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 4: call to the Australian Maritime Safety Authorities twenty four to 67 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 4: seven hotline for these kinds of marine incidents, and they 68 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 4: turned the ship around and they headed back towards Lizard Island. 69 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 4: They immediately started a search that night. The cruise ship 70 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 4: is obviously pretty slow vessel. They sent some crew members 71 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 4: ahead on a smaller boat so they could start ching 72 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 4: by torch light for Suzanne Rees and they didn't find her. Unfortunately, 73 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 4: police ended up finding her on the Sunday morning. They 74 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 4: found her body about fifty meters off the path that 75 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 4: she had been walking on on a guided hike to 76 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 4: the highest point of Lizard Island, which is a spot 77 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 4: called Cook's Look, so called after Captain Cook walked up 78 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 4: to the top of. 79 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 3: This point to try and find his. 80 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 4: Way out of the Great Barrier reef out of the 81 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 4: Coral Shoal. 82 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: So let's go back in time a couple of days. 83 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: Sarah Friday, October twenty four was when this vessel left 84 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: the port of Cans, setting out on what would have 85 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:53,599 Speaker 1: been a once in a lifetime journey. Suzanne Reese, we 86 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: now know, was an eighty year old lady from Sydney, 87 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,679 Speaker 1: very adventurous person. She looks extremely fit, she looks wonderfully 88 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: being healthy. There's a great photograph of her having what 89 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: looks like a champagne breakfast, and she lived with her 90 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: daughter in Sydney. She was obviously a well loved and 91 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: extremely capable, although elderly lady. So the versa left Cans 92 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: and their first stop was Lizard Island. What were they 93 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: doing at Lizard Island? 94 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 4: The Coral Adventurer had a number of options for their 95 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 4: passengers when they docked at Lizard Island. If people wanted 96 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 4: to get off the ship and explore, they could do 97 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 4: some snorkeling in the water off Lizard Island. 98 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:36,720 Speaker 3: It's incredibly beautiful. 99 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 4: They could also take a guided walk with crew members 100 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 4: up to Cook's Look and then back down again. And 101 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 4: we know from Lizard Island Resort what they tell their 102 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 4: hotel guests a very exclusive, luxurious resort. They say, go 103 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 4: very early in the morning, take a lot of water, 104 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 4: and take communications devices, because even though it is only 105 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 4: a four kilometer round trip, it can take a number 106 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,719 Speaker 4: of hours. And there is no cover, there's no tree cover, 107 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 4: it's very exposed, and it wasn't quite summer yet. It 108 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 4: was late October when this happened, but it was extremely hot. 109 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 4: And even though miss Reese was extremely fit, as you've said, 110 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 4: she was a keen bushwalker. She was a member of 111 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 4: a bushwalking club, and her family says she was very 112 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 4: fit and healthy. What they understand, what they've been told, 113 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 4: is that at some point on her walk, she said 114 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 4: to the crew members that she wasn't feeling well. And 115 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 4: what her family has been told extraordinarily is that she 116 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 4: was instructed by those crew members to find her own 117 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 4: way back to the ship. Now, what we have discovered is, 118 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 4: once we've reported those details, a lot of the Australians'. 119 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 3: Readers are keen. 120 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,239 Speaker 4: Cruisers and they have said how unusual it is for 121 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 4: a passenger, let alone an elderly passenger, to be expected 122 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 4: to navigate their way back somewhere, particularly when they're already 123 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 4: not feeling well. So I think the family and others 124 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 4: have a lot of questions about the appropriateness of that decision, 125 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 4: And obviously, in hindsight we can tell it was the 126 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 4: wrong decision and what should have happened was a head 127 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 4: count of all passengers. So ships are supposed to have 128 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:32,680 Speaker 4: very strict for obvious reasons of protocols to count on 129 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 4: and off people who leave the ship, and it's particularly 130 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 4: strict when people are in the water. Because of the 131 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 4: Lonegan experience, however, it seems as if either the protocols 132 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 4: weren't followed, or they certainly weren't followed properly because they've 133 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 4: not realized that Suzanne Reese was not on the ship 134 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:57,079 Speaker 4: until several hours after they left Lizard Island. 135 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, let's just pause and put ourselves in our imagination 136 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: on that walk with the two guides from the cruise 137 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: ship who were taking a group of people up, I 138 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: can imagine I have some empathy for them. They might 139 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,559 Speaker 1: be young people typically who work in cruising. They're leading 140 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: a group up. Somebody in the group says, I'm not 141 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: feeling well. I might head back down, you know. Don't 142 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 1: worry about me. I'll be fine. Perhaps that's one way 143 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: that it could have unfolded. I can sort of understand 144 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 1: how they might have felt, well, we have the other 145 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: people that we need to look after. There needs to 146 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: be two of us to take them all the way 147 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:40,680 Speaker 1: up to the top. So you can understand that scenario unfolding. 148 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: It does bring to mind for me, Sarah, the death 149 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: of Michael Moseley, the greatly beloved British doctor who died 150 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: on a Greek island again set out for a walk 151 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: a fit older man in his late sixties, and died 152 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: very very close to help after apparently becoming disoriented and 153 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: losing his way. Nightmarish scenario for those young cruise workers, 154 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: isn't it. 155 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,719 Speaker 4: Of course, And we don't want to presuppose or prejudge 156 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 4: any of what individuals may have done. I think what 157 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 4: a coronial investigation may discover is what systems were in 158 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 4: place and what systems failed. We of course don't want 159 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 4: to unfairly place blame on any particular individual before all 160 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 4: the facts are known, but yes it does beggar belief 161 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 4: and p's It is something worth noting that the passengers 162 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,560 Speaker 4: there was about one hundred and twelve of them on board. 163 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 4: They were supposed to leave a week earlier, so there 164 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 4: was some kind of electrical problem with the ship. They 165 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 4: all had to wait on the ship for a week 166 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 4: in cans so it wasn't the ideal. 167 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 3: Start to the trip. 168 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,320 Speaker 4: But presumably they may have got to know people, and 169 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 4: maybe that's why some of Miseres's fellow passengers noticed that 170 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 4: she wasn't dinner on that night after the Lizard Island walk. 171 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 4: But I know some of our readers have suggested, and 172 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 4: again we don't know the details, but perhaps maybe one 173 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 4: of the guests could have been tasked with waiting with 174 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 4: miss Rees or helping her back to the ship just 175 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 4: until the remaining people had finished their walk and they 176 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,560 Speaker 4: could have all gone together. But of course, as we 177 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 4: said in hindsight, it's much easier for us from studios 178 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 4: in prison and Sydney to make these assumptions about what 179 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 4: should have happened. Unfortunately, these things didn't happen, and the 180 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,080 Speaker 4: worst has occurred. 181 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: Coming up how Suzanne Reese's case awakened memories of a 182 00:11:42,800 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: tragedy nearly thirty years old. In nineteen ninety eight, American 183 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: couple Tom and Eileen Lonigan borded a dive boat in 184 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,319 Speaker 1: Port Douglas, bound for Saint Crispin's Reef, a popular scuba 185 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: site south of Lizard Island. The experienced divers were visiting 186 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: the reef on their way home to Louisiana from Fiji, 187 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 1: where they'd been serving in the Peace Corps. But two 188 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: days after the vessel returned to dock, a staff member 189 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 1: found the Lonegan's wallets and passports, and it became clear 190 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: they must have been left behind on the reef. Tom 191 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 1: and Eileen Lonegan were never seen again. Here's Sarah Elks. 192 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,680 Speaker 4: So there was a whole heap of other regulations put 193 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 4: in place, but one of the things we weren't really 194 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 4: able to establish was whether there are different regulations for 195 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,720 Speaker 4: those kinds of dive boats and snorkeling boats compared to 196 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 4: cruise ships. And unfortunately, and perhaps understandably, but I think unfortunately, 197 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,600 Speaker 4: the various authorities when we were first reporting this story 198 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 4: weren't willing to talk about actually what the regulations are. 199 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 4: And certainly the various tourism operators were not willing to 200 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 4: talk about their processes, and that was something that Suzanne 201 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 4: Reese's family, including her daughter Catherine, really raised concerns about, 202 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 4: is why this company has not been willing to talk 203 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 4: about what processes they do have in place to stop 204 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 4: this from happening. 205 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: The ship that Suzanne Reese was on was called Coral Adventurer. 206 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: That's owned by a company which is ultimately owned by NRMA, 207 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: the big tourism and motoring conglomerate. That's one of Australia's 208 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: biggest and most significant companies. How did you rate their 209 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,680 Speaker 1: response to your query, Sarah and to the family of 210 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:57,680 Speaker 1: Suzanne Reese. 211 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 4: Unfortunately, they weren't very forthcoming. I think they went into 212 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 4: full crisis mode as you can understand, and certainly initially 213 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 4: they weren't willing to say very much on the record 214 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 4: at all, including to help us report as accurately and 215 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:19,080 Speaker 4: as fairly as possible. As time went on, they were 216 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 4: a little bit more forthcoming, I think, certainly as Miss 217 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 4: Reese's family quite courageously released some really detailed statements to us, 218 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 4: to The Australian in particular running through exactly what happened. 219 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 3: And also Catherine Rees. 220 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 4: Has spoken about her disappointment about the contact that she 221 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 4: received from the choral expedition's company and NRMA. She felt 222 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 4: like then that there were a number of unanswered questions 223 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 4: and she was also quite critical of the company, saying 224 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 4: publicly that they had offered her and her family help 225 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 4: and support, but she said at the time that it 226 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 4: was not what help and support they were offering, and 227 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 4: I think all they wanted at the time was some 228 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 4: clear answers to exactly what happened. And we have reached 229 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 4: back out to and hopefully by the time this comes 230 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 4: out we might know more. But we've reached back out 231 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 4: to the family of Suzanne Reese to see whether they 232 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 4: have received some answers to those outstanding questions, and we 233 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,960 Speaker 4: will be talking to all of the different agencies that 234 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 4: were investigating. So after the death, the police initially responded 235 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 4: with searching. The police were the agency that managed to 236 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 4: find miss Rees's body on the Sunday morning. There was 237 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 4: a coronial investigation launched, an investigation by the Australian Maritime 238 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 4: Safety Authority and a Workplace Health and Safety Queensland investigation. 239 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 4: We've not heard anything yet about the outcomes of those investigations. 240 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 4: But I think it'll be really important once we do 241 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 4: know what their records are, that they are adopted so 242 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 4: that this kind of tragedy doesn't happen again. 243 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: It's a really interesting balance that Australia faces, isn't it, Sarah. 244 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 1: We're so protected by great consumer laws and by great 245 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 1: safety regulations a lot of the time. We're also aging well, 246 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,640 Speaker 1: we're often very healthy into our seventies and eighties, and 247 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: we're adventurous, we like to travel. All those things come together, 248 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: and I think maybe it's easy for operators to forget 249 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: that maybe some of their customers are quite vulnerable, elderly, 250 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: vulnerable people who are almost more like children, you know, 251 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: who need the protection of operators rather than just being 252 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: left to their own devices. How have you kind of 253 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: reflected on all of that in the month since you 254 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 1: did this reporting. 255 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 3: That's such a. 256 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 4: Difficult question because there might be a gap between what 257 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 4: each of us believes we're capable of and what it 258 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 4: actually turns out we're capable of. Ups what each of 259 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:04,719 Speaker 4: the passengers needed to be told was just how tricky 260 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 4: this kind of hik is, and about the conditions, about 261 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 4: how hot it is to make sure that the largely 262 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:18,119 Speaker 4: older cohort is properly supported with you know, maybe extra 263 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 4: water and some food on the journey, and perhaps you 264 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 4: need a couple of extra crew members, and you know, 265 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 4: it does show that, as you say, our older Australians 266 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 4: are really keen to experience our beautiful country. If these 267 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,919 Speaker 4: companies are going to sell them a very expensive ticket, 268 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 4: then I think the very least that a passenger could 269 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 4: expect is that their safety is protected as much as possible. 270 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: Sarah Elks is a senior journalist with The Australian. 271 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 3: Thanks Sarah, Thanks Claire. 272 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:54,879 Speaker 1: Before we go. 273 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 3: An important note. 274 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 1: A podcast episode on twenty six February titled Slater and 275 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: Gordon's Fake Email Nightmare made reference to the fact that 276 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,520 Speaker 1: Marie Ruiz Matheson's name was used in an email to 277 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:11,639 Speaker 1: all staff at her former firm, Slater and Gordon. The 278 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: Australian accepts Miss Ruiz Matheson did not author and did 279 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,640 Speaker 1: not send the email, and apologizes to her if any 280 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 1: viewers took the podcast to be suggesting otherwise.