Two notoriously aggressive guard dogs menaced a worker days before mauling a meter reader to death at a remote property, an inquest has been told.
Kane Minion, aged 42, was employed by Energy Queensland when he was tragically killed during a visit to an equipment hire property in Greenbank, just south of Brisbane, around Christmas in 2022.
Almost three years later, his devastated fiancee Toni Baird, family and friends attended an inquest seeking closure.
“The search for answers has been long and challenging for them … ideally, this signifies the start of closure,” expressed Baird’s lawyer, Travis Schultz, outside Southport’s Coroners Court today.
Loved ones packed the court for the inquest’s first day, with a photo of a smiling Minion featuring on coroner Amanda Bain’s desk.
“Their hope is that this incident prompts significant reforms to safeguard frontline workers and prevent such tragedies,” Schultz stated.
The canines involved, a bull mastiff and a ridgeback, were secured behind dual security fences at Springfield Hire, a company operated by the Morrow family.
These dogs were noted for their extreme protectiveness, with explicit instructions for visitors not to enter without advance notice, accompanied by a cautionary sign at the property’s entrance.
Technician Brian Harnett was at Action Pumps when he received a call to replace a repaired pump at Springfield Hire just days before the unfortunate incident.
The company had called ahead to ask owners Dean and Paula Morrow to ensure the dogs were secure and were assured that they would be put away.
“We were warned already about the dogs … it was a known thing that the dogs weren’t friendly,” Harnett said.
It was only after letting himself through the first security gate Harnett realised the dogs had not been secured.
“I looked up and they were rushing toward me,” he said.
“It was only a couple of seconds before they were at my car door barking and mouthing at the window.”
Harnett honked his horn to raise the alarm before Morrow’s teenage son, Zane, arrived to curb the canines.
“He apologised and said he forgot to put the dogs away.”
The technician chose not to report the incident to police or animal control officers.
“I considered it, but in that line of work, we have incidents quite often. I thought if I did (report it), it would become a big problem for everybody,” he said.
“It was a genuine mistake. In hindsight, maybe I should have.”
Owner Dean Morrow said there were a number of dogs at the property, but they were “more like family pets” than guard dogs.
He denied the animals were aggressive, dismissing the attack on the pump technician as “nothing major”.
Under questioning, he said the “Guard Dogs On Duty Do Not Enter” warning sign had been placed on the front gate for public safety.
“The sign was to give notification and remind people coming around that we had dogs on site – pet dogs,” Morrow said.
“They would bark at people and make them feel uncomfortable.”
Earlier, the court had been told Minion had been a meter reader for seven years and had received dog safety training.
The court was told the Morrows had been advised by email the meter reader needed to attend the property and the dogs should be secured.
But Morrow relied on his wife Paula to advise him of visitors to the property and pair’s relationship had broken down.
Outside the court, Morrow refused to answer questions about the fatal attack or apologise to Minion’s family.
