7. Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Can he assure the families of those killed in the Pike River mine disaster that Government funding will be available for the recovery of bodies, given the mine is now in the receivers’ hands?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Prime Minister) Link to this
As the Government has said many times, the key issue in deciding whether the recovery of the bodies could take place is the safety and stability of the mine. Money has not been an issue.
Hon Damien O’Connor Link to this
How can the grieving families of the 29 Pike River miners trapped in the mine be reassured that every effort is being made to recover their remains, when receiver John Fisk has stated that “the body recovery operation is the responsibility of the police and that operation stopped some time ago.”, and when the receiver has now announced the possible sale of the whole mine?
The recovery operation by the police came to an end simply because it appeared to be making no progress in the face of the difficulties of stabilising the mine and making it safe to go in there. Authorities such as the police maintain the same interest in the recovery of the bodies, regardless of who owns the mine.
Hon Damien O’Connor Link to this
Can the Prime Minister then assure the families that any new owner of the mine will also have a legal and moral obligation to pay for the recovery of the remains of their loved ones who are still trapped in the mine?
The member is raising some complicated issues, I think, to do with conferring an obligation on an owner in the face of the stability and safety problems in the mine. That is a matter that no doubt we could get some advice on, but I would simply restate the case: money has not been an issue. There has been significant money spent there in order to try to get some safety and stability in the mine. Unfortunately, that has not occurred, but the authorities still maintain the same interest in the cause of death and the recovery of those bodies.
Hon Damien O’Connor Link to this
Does the Prime Minister’s statement “I gave a commitment to the families at Pike River that I would do everything I could to get their men out and I stand by that” mean that he will guarantee to fund the recovery of their remains, or is that statement about as reliable as the one that stated he would not increase GST?
I will not dignify that comment on the very real commitment that all people have shown towards the recovery of those bodies. If the member wants to make a political circus out of it, that is up to him. Those bodies are still there. The Crown has taken every step it possibly can. The hurdle is the safety and stability of the mine—not the receivers, not the new owners. There is no other obstacle but the safety and stability of the mine. If the efforts made by the police to try to secure the mine had been successful, of course we would be in there recovering those bodies. No one has yet, in my view, come up with a plan that goes anywhere near achieving the safety and stability that would be required to go 2½ kilometres into the mountain, retrieve the bodies, and come 2½ kilometres out, and do it all on foot, which would be the only viable way to do it.