10. Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he stand by his statement on the Pike River royal commission of inquiry that “we are taking this inquiry absolutely seriously, we are determined to get answers for those families, and we will leave no stone unturned”?
Rt Hon JOHN KEYHon Damien O’Connor Link to this
Will he be satisfied that he has fulfilled his promise that “we will leave no stone unturned” if the company that planned, built, and operated the mine is unable to fully participate in the royal commission of inquiry; if not, what action will he take to ensure the company can participate?
There are a couple of points. Firstly, the company does not need lawyers to fully participate in the royal commission of inquiry—it is not an adversarial court, nor is anyone actually on trial. In relation to the company and the formal request it made yesterday to fund legal representation, the Government is unlikely to respond positively towards that request, because it is our view that the company already has resources to pay for its own legal representation. On the best information we have, it has about $5 million left in the bank.
Hon Damien O’Connor Link to this
Does the Prime Minister seriously consider that the statement by the receivers and the company that they do not have the ability to fund and finance the proper information to be delivered is a reasonable excuse; and why does he not do something about it now?