For those who may be a bit defensive about Auckland airport, as one who has operated extensively through Auckland over the last month, let me try to consolidate the information that has been mentioned by others.
Qantas has been going through the LOSA audit process now for about 18 months. This system examines threat/error environments and how pilots manage the threats that they are confronted with to avoid making potentially serious errors.
Auckland airport, in my opinion, presents several threats to the unsuspecting/unfamiliar pilot. These are:
1) A taxiway which is marked as a runway and is called a runway (05L/23R) even when it is being used as a taxiway.
2) Taxiway signage that is very poorly positioned - the signage is placed almost perfectly between the taxiways so that you are not sure whether the sign refers to the next taxiway or the previous taxiway.
3) The taxiway designations are extremely confusing - from memory, taxiway B8 aligns with D6 (even though both are little more than inverts). As bad as these designations are, they are an improvement on the "FIRST" taxiway and the "MAIN" taxiway designations of previous years at Auckland.
4) With the works in progress at the International Terminal, the pavement markings and lead-in lighting for entry to Bay 8 (in particular) are very difficult to see at night, and are almost impossible to see at night in the rain - this point is freely acknowledged by the maintenance personnel who meet the aircraft on arrival.
5) Despite undergoing regular maintenance for over 10 years (that I can remember), often with major disruptions to existing procedures (necessitating the green and yellow Jeppesen pages) runway 05R/23L is still very rough, ungrooved, covered in rubber deposits and has ICAO runway markings that are very difficult to see. Runway 05R/23L is due to be closed again next month for several weeks.
If an incident did happen as described above, I would not be surprised. I know that there are plans for a major parallel runway complex at Auckland (to the north of the existing terminal) with a cross runway also mentioned. I hope that these developments will render the current 05L/23R redundant - and the sooner the better.