Christchurch couple awarded $15k over contaminated play sand not done fighting

A Christchurch couple awarded over $15,000 from Kmart over asbestos-contaminated play sand is launching a petition calling for the Government to take action.

Elle Chrisp and David Dingwall purchased four kilograms of the contaminated sand for their three-year-old twins last year.

In November, Kmart recalled more than 65,000 units of the product because it was found to be contaminated with asbestos.

Since then, the couple have been fighting for accountability from the retail giant. This week a Disputes Tribunal judgement revealed Kmart would have to pay the couple $15,000 to cover the costs of dealing with the potential contamination.

While they're pleased with the payout, the pair are now urging the Government to investigate the issue further.

This week they submitted a petition proposal to Parliament, which will be reviewed by the Office of the Clerk before signatures can be accepted.

“We genuinely come to it with like, you know, very genuine intentions and just wanting to get to the truth,” Chrisp said. 

Chrisp and Dingwall submitted a 22-page complaint to the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, WorkSafe, NZ Customs and the Commerce Commission in April this year.

The couple are both trained lawyers, but said they were approaching the issue as affected parents.

The couple received no response from any party until media approached the organisations for comment. 

“We - very, I think, naively - thought that, okay, maybe the Government's under resourced,” Chrisp said.

“Maybe they just didn't know about this. Like, we'll share it with them, and awesome, they can step in and do the work. No - they don't respond.” 

Chrisp has an Instagram account dedicated to the issue, under the username @kmart_sandstorm. She has been calling for government agencies to act, but that hasn’t returned any results. 

The couples’ petition has three purposes: to call for a medical assessment pathway for children exposed to the products, to investigate how unverified safety claims entered the recall notices, and to require independent verification of recall notice claims. 

Chrisp took issue with the process by which recall notices are issued – Kmart writes the notice, and then the Government publishes it, which she says as a consumer is very confusing. 

Chrisp has a large following on social media and has been told not to speak out on the issue to avoid causing anxiety amongst the public.

“That's not a me problem,” she said. “That's a substance of what we're talking about problem. Maybe it's time just to have honest conversations with the public.” 

Kmart did not respond to a request for comment.