7. Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he stand by his statement that “It’s clearly been a large sum of money. But at the end of the day I gave a commitment to the families at Pike River I’d do everything I could to get their men out, I stand by that. I think the Government has done everything it can do so far”?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Yes. We are doing everything we can, and we will continue to, within the constraints of safety.
Hon Damien O’Connor Link to this
Is the Government doing everything it can to support the families affected by the Pike River disaster economically?
I believe so. The families who have lost a loved one will, of course, be eligible for accident compensation. That is a substantial payment to those families. It will not do anything to bring back their loved ones, but at least it will give them the comfort and support of knowing that money will be coming into their families. Work is going on to try to help that community. In respect of the other families who are left behind, obviously, the company has gone into receivership. I understand that the Mayor of Grey District met with the Minister for Economic Development this morning. The last comment I would make is that New Zealanders will be aware that they have given very generously, on both a corporate level and a personal level, to a fund for the families of the Pike River miners. Obviously, I would encourage disbursements to be made from that fund as soon as possible.
Hon Damien O’Connor Link to this
What level of support can the Pike River families and the Grey District expect from his Government’s economic recovery package, given the precedent set by his $1.5 billion bail-out of family investors in South Canterbury Finance and the $33 million support for Warner Bros films?
Firstly, I think it is important to understand that the $1.5 billion was to honour a commitment made by the previous Labour Government, which he was a Minister of—that is an important point. Secondly, in terms of the $33 million for Warner Bros, that was to secure 3,000 jobs that the Council of Trade Unions and the Labour Party wanted to see leave New Zealand. [ Interruption] I am surprised that the Labour members are a bunch of Hobbit haters, but obviously they are. Thirdly, we will be working with those families.
Mr SPEAKERHon Damien O’Connor Link to this
Why is the economic recovery package for the Grey District not being announced until January next year, when people who have lost their jobs or been affected by the Pike River disaster need certainty before Christmas?
My understanding is that all of the employees of Pike River Coal will be paid right through to Christmas, and that is because they are getting redundancy payments. I do not think that the challenging issue is necessarily that point; it is about future employment from there. The good news, as the member will be aware, is that the unemployment rate on the West Coast is lower than in other parts of New Zealand; it is about 4.5 percent. The second thing is that I have had advice that the economic implication of the Pike River mine is about $12 million out of about a $600-million economy there, so although it obviously has a significant impact on Greymouth there is a lot of activity going on on the West Coast that will help to provide employment opportunities.