HOT AIR: Serene Fan Heaters and the largest Appliance Recall in New Zealand history by Justin Sollitt

HOT AIR: Serene Fan Heaters and the largest Appliance Recall in New Zealand history

DESCRIPTION
ISBN: 978-0-473-70799-6
Format: medium softcover
Size (mm): 160 w x 210 h x 25 d
Pages: 286
SKU: A4/2608/POD 

ABOUT

This story is currently being updated in lieu of the ongoing developments per media releases.

The story that New Zealand's Safety Regulator, Worksafe, tried to bury.

When the system prioritised profit over public safety, Justin Sollitt fought for seven years against the safety regulator, the electrical industry, and one of New Zealand's most prominent law firms to expose one of the largest safety scandals since the Pike River and Cave Creek disasters. He succeeded.

It is a must-read story of New Zealand national significance, especially for anyone in business and who says they have seen and heard it all—because until you read this story, you haven’t.

The author, Justin Sollitt, provides the explanation to New Zealanders that is unlikely to be provided by the Energy Safety Regulator, WorkSafe. He explains the bewildering how and why behind allowing the current multi-million dollar product recall of SERENE fan heaters to happen. Compounding this mystery is the fact that WorkSafe already had the experience of the infamous Goldair heater recall of 1985, which now pales to negligibility compared with SERENE.

Justin Sollitt was involved with SERENE-branded heaters between 2015 and 2017 via his company, Genco Energy Group. Through their Melbourne-based subsidiary, Genco had twice been invited since 2014 to be the Australian licensee for SERENE heater distribution. However, within a short time, Genco Energy's safety and technical division was tasked with completing numerous safety and compliance inspections on all SERENE heating products.

Genco very quickly concluded that all but one out of 30 products in the entire SERENE range were electrically unsafe, non-compliant, or prone to catching fire. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, Genco's subsidiary 'SERENE AUSTRALIA' barely lasted 18 months after signing up in late 2015. The exact same safety issues arising in New Zealand forced them to recall what little they had sold, terminate their Australian business, and consign their entire SERENE inventory to the scrap heap.

Very quickly, Genco labelled nearly the entire Serene range an "accident waiting to happen." So serious were the safety concerns uncovered by Genco Energy that over the next seven years after 2017, Genco filed no fewer than 52 separate safety warnings. These were sent both to the Safety Regulator, WorkSafe, and right up to their Ministerial level, as well as to the electrical wholesale industry across New Zealand and Australia.

Justin Sollitt: "...for years the electrical industry in New Zealand was singing Serene's praises and bathing in their profits.

Meanwhile, I seemed to be the only one that had the technical qualifications, deep trade-based experience, the street smarts, as well as the knowledge of the Serene Industries internal workings to warn back in 2017: 'NO, this is absolute bullshit; we are not selling this dangerous, illegal rubbish.  Mark my words—Serene is a complete facade—it is pure artifice—and this show will end up the biggest safety cluster f**k since Pike River.'"

"Without exception, everyone else either buried their head in the sand, was asleep at the wheel, or blatentley bullshitted their way around the growing tally of safety incidents and published non-compliance."

Universally, the Genco Energy findings were dismissed outright. At Genco's insistence in 2021, WorkSafe reluctantly completed its own examination and testing of the same SERENE products that Genco had already tested. However, astonishingly, WorkSafe then certified them all with a clean bill of health.

More bewildering was that WorkSafe's dismissal of Genco Energy's findings came in the face of an ever-increasing tally of house fires and many other electric shock incidents resulting from SERENE products—two of which fires nearly ended in fatalities. For good measure, the SERENE owner, Serene Industries Ltd, commenced its own legal proceedings personally against Sollitt for defamation, damages, and losses to its brand over “these persistent and amusing, but baseless claims by one lone idiot who lost the Serene agency.”

Meanwhile in Australia, Justin Sollitt had already been cautioned months prior by his own counsel concerning the Serene distribution business;

"...any director of an Australian importer/distributor that knowingly sells dangerous or non-compliant products, and especially those with a safety incident record like Serene, would likely face up to eight years' jail as a consequence of just one fire or safety incident resulting in an injury or death."

Then, in February 2024, not long after another round of independent product fire safety and compliance testing completed by Genco Energy, on exactly the same heaters that Worksafe had given a clean bill of health three years prior—and seven years since their first warnings were filed—WorkSafe conceded that all prior Genco safety concerns identified with SERENE over the last seven years were, in fact, completely valid.  Without warning, WorkSafe gazetted a compulsory immediate recall notice for all SERENE heaters sold since June 2018, affecting nearly 50,000 heater products sold over the prior six years.

Meanwhile, their governing Ministry, MBIE, labelled SERENE products "so, so dangerous", and the Electrical Workers Registration Board called the situation "a major life-threatening fire hazard with a significant risk to people being harmed and property being damaged."

Justin Sollitt: "When we were twice invited to represent Serene in Australia in 2014 then 2015, we were sold on Serene being built on one of the finest appliance engineering and compliance legacies in this part of the world—and elsewhere in our business I am well used to the safety and compliance standards of an oil rig and an airline."

"Based on what we quickly uncovered, I wouldn't trust Serene or WorkSafe to wire a 3-pin plug."

Today, the cost forced in an instant by WorkSafe onto New Zealand wholesale resellers and homeowners with SERENE appliances is in the range of $15+ million. WorkSafe barely even made a comment, despite the enormous media and public pressure to explain its ineptitude and inaction. Their only action was that WorkSafe's CEO resigned under the guise of "a career break." After years of vehemently rejecting all claims against them and pursuing legal action against Sollitt, SERENE swiftly closed up shop, and its owners fled overseas without a trace.

Justin Sollitt: "Unlike the situation in New Zealand, way back in 2017, Genco proactively took the required action that we needed to, when we should have—and today this recall situation over in Australia—is not one heater, not one dollar.”

To the layman, this story clearly illustrates how numerous unsafe conditions were allowed to continue for years at the Pike River Mine, which abruptly ended with the explosion that killed 29 miners. It also mirrors the more recent, highly questionable fiasco that was the Whakaari / White Island investigation, which was even publicly labelled as corrupt. Both disasters were under the control of the very same WorkSafe.

The court of public opinion swiftly deemed this a matter of criminal negligence, while WorkSafe's governing body, MBIE, launched its own Ministerial Inquiry into the WorkSafe response to the previously known dangers. Meanwhile, many in the industry around New Zealand called out the irony and hypocrisy of WorkSafe's "if you can sense it, you can stop it" national safety campaign, which they were promoting at the same time they were repeatidly dismissing the filed Genco safety concerns.

"Serene is just one in a long line of preventable disasters worldwide, where safety regulators had for years known all about the dangers but took no action."

Sadly, and unnecessarily, there are striking similarities that are universal between this SERENE story and other infamous tragic disasters in history, including those that have ended up as TV drama documentaries including; the Pike River Mine, Titan / OceanGate, the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Beirut explosion.

Just as was the case with SERENE, these other disasters all followed precisely the same pattern: hubris, profit, and bureaucracy getting in the way of public safety and sound decision-making; management and the relevant safety regulators being warned numerous times by experienced industry insiders over many years prior; and a universal underscore of hopeless technical ineptitude.  And astonishingly, but unsurprisingly, the accountability for this Serene debacle has been zero. 

Justin Sollitt: "Completely asleep at the wheel best describes Worksafe."

"They are an introverted and dysfunctional organisation that lost their way years ago.  From top to bottom they are just a collection of idiots, duds and misfits—they are all hidebound, clumsy, technically inexperienced, naive and very easily misled—completely inept, void of any intuition or street smarts.  Serene Industries was a master manipulator and was running rings around them and the electrical industry."

"Anything and everything concerning Serene Industries and WorkSafe is the epitome of 'you couldn't make this crap up writing a fiction'.  Between them, I cannot think of a single, positive, redeeming feature—not one."
 

Oct 2017 "Your ongoing nonsense noted...do your worst Justin, but be careful." Response from Christopher Woodward to Sollitt's notice that he is now taking all rejected Serene product safety and compliance concerns to the New Zealand Safety Regulator.

May 2017 "We will have absolutely nothing to do with Serene Industries or its owner Christopher Woodward. Serene products are flimsy, poor quality rubbish, and Woodward is well known as the industry cowboy."
NZ appliance reseller

May 2021 "Energy Safety / Worksafe is satisfied that the following electrical appliances appear satisfactory and that they comply with the appropriate standards: Serene S2068, Serene S2078/207T."
notice to Genco Energy from Paul Kauder, Worksafe Technical Officer. 25 May 2021. 3 years prior to their recall notice issued on the same products. (refer image)

May 2021 "As Worksafe has communicated to you before, if you do indeed have evidence of safety non-compliance then please forward to us promptly for our assessment and action."
notice to Genco Energy from Mark Wogan, Worksafe Manager. 28 May 2021. 3 years prior to their recall notice issued. (refer image)

2024 "We are no longer instructed by Serene Industries Limited on this matter."
The only response to Justin Sollitt from the Chairman as well as two partners of one of New Zealand's most prominent law firms, and their only explanation following their unrelenting defamation litigation against Sollitt in response to the 52 safety reports filed against Serene Industries.

"Serene and Worksafe picked the wrong guy for a fight with Justin Sollitt, and they both would have quickly wished that they hadn't. Including one of the country's biggest law firms, they all completely underestimated him." BF

“Sollitt was right all along. At the rate these heaters were being sold and without his tenacity over eight years, this situation would now be far worse."
Manager, NZ electrical wholesaler

"Serene will completely reshape Worksafe, especially in lieu of the Pike River Mine and White Island disasters". PN

"This is an absolute fiasco these Worksafe criminals have caused.”
Manager, NZ plumbing wholesaler

"In our own business we get a further (and horrifying) look into the Worksafe team and their complete lack of skill and knowledge of electrical standards etc through this same process. Honestly, we were shocked."
NZ appliance distributor

"I have no longer have anything to do with Serene, now the disgraceful ambivalence from Worksafe."
Appliance Industry PR specialist.

Dec 2025 "Worksafe is maintaining their right to legal professional privilege, and your request is declined."
Ombudsman's ruling following a OIA request by Genco Energy to be provided a copy of the taxpayer funded independent Ministerial Inquiry report into the Worksafe response and handling of the Serene heater recall.

Feb 2025: "It took him 10 years but Justin Sollitt got the job done. I worked with Don Sollitt in the 1990s and Justin has certainly inherited his father's tenacity and horsepower that I remember.  Few people would have the strength or inclination to single handedly take on an entire industry, a government regulator, and one of the country's biggest law firms." CL  

Mar 2026 "F**ken hell Justin, there is enough evidence here to have many in this industry behind bars." IM 

DISCLAIMER & FACT CLARIFICATION

This book is an investigative work based on first-hand experiences, corporate records, technical safety audits, and official correspondence spanning more than a decade.

In public interest investigations of this nature, attempts are frequently made to distort the truth, deflect accountability, or undermine the credibility of those who blow the whistle.

To ensure absolute transparency and correct the public record, the following legal and operational facts are explicitly stated:

Personal Solvency

Contrary to isolated and inaccurate reports, or malicious allegations as a result of his involvement with Serene Industries and Serene products, the author and company Director Justin Paul Sollitt, has never been adjudicated bankrupt, placed into receivership or any form of administration, or subjected to any insolvency orders in New Zealand, Australia, or any other global jurisdiction.  Further, Justin Sollitt has no connection whatsoever to another New Zealand company liquidation; Sollitt Developments Ltd. 

Closure of Genco subsidiary: Serene Heating Australia Pty Ltd

This Australian subsidiary of Genco Energy Group owned and operated the ‘Serene Australia’ distribution network under license. This business was closed after Justin Sollitt unilaterally terminated the license to represent the owner Serene Industries Ltd, in October 2017. The entity was subsequently voluntarily closed and wound up by Genco Energy Group. The company was never liquidated or placed into receivership or administration.

Genco Energy Group did ensure that;

1. All trade suppliers and staff were settled in full.
2. All warranty claims continued to be honoured for non-recall Serene products sold in Australia.
3. All unsafe and non-compliant Serene products/inventory in Australia, that Genco identified and reported, was immediately recalled and destroyed as Genco’s expense.

Remarks

This story is currently being updated in lieu of the ongoing developments per media releases.