Pike River mine evidence went missing

Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, February 18th, 2019 - 74 comments
Categories: business, capitalism, disaster, employment, health and safety, Mining, workers' rights - Tags: , ,

Call the cops.  Someone may have hindered the investigation of the cause of the Pike River fatality by hiding evidence,

And it was potentially vital evidence that showed that the explosion occurred in an electrical cabinet that was tragically totally unsafe for the conditions.

From Radio New Zealand:

Some families of Pike River mine victims suspect a piece of vital evidence may have been spirited away by the mining company and lost.

Sonja Rockhouse, whose son Ben was among the 29 men killed in the blast, said a photograph of an electrical cabinet door that was blown 100m to the mine surface has just come to light, but no-one can say where the actual item has gone.

The door from a fan control box was photographed nine days after the first explosion in 2010.

“It’s a possible ignition source – it could be the thing that caused the explosion, so it’s a vital piece of information,” said Ms Rockhouse.

She said one of the “unsafe” fan control cabinets was blown to the surface and had disappeared onto a helicopter leased by the Pike River Mine company.

“It’s bloody outrageous and it shows exactly why we need to go back into Pike and why we need a proper investigation.”

Bernie Monk was understandably angry and said this:

Someone knew that incredibly important evidence had turned up and somebody knows what happened to it. Whoever that is needs to come forward right now, because we’re not stopping until we uncover the truth.”

And Anna Osborne highlighted the reasons why the reenntry into the mine is so important.

All I can say is it’s a good thing we fought so hard for re-entry and re-investigation, because with each day it’s clear there’s more that New Zealand needs to know”.

Police are investigating.

Update:

And John Campbell has just tweeted this.  CLive would be Campbell Live, his old TV3 show.

74 comments on “Pike River mine evidence went missing ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. te reo putake 1
    18 February 2019 at 8:37 am

    If this cabinet has been ‘disappeared’ by those running Pike River, then jail should swiftly follow for those responsible.

    My suspicion is that in the days following the explosion, Pike River bosses were desperate to hide anything that suggested that their lax safety culture was to blame. No wonder they were never keen on re-entry!

    In gaseous mines, there are supposed to be no pieces of equipment capable of creating a spark in the workings. All electrical gear is supposed to be fully shielded and low risk. Even telephones and comms devices are designed not to cause a spark.

    If the missing cabinet is proof that non mine standard electrical equipment was in use, that’s not only evidence of a potential ignition source, it’s evidence of criminal behaviour.

    • mickysavage 1.1
      18 February 2019 at 8:49 am

      One of the family members just said on RNZ that the photo was taken by a Government employee and they saw it loaded onto a helicopter.

      • patricia bremner 1.1.1
        18 February 2019 at 9:45 am

        Who flew the helicopter? Every flight has to be logged.. surely that can be followed up?

        • mary_a 1.1.1.1
          18 February 2019 at 12:08 pm

          Patricia (1.1.1) … By chance is it possible that the flight log record could also be missing, if officially queried?

          You know … “what flight log record was that then …?”

        • Sacha 1.1.1.2
          18 February 2019 at 12:43 pm

          Who *hired* the helicopter.

          • NZJester 1.1.1.2.1
            18 February 2019 at 1:43 pm

            The news articles I read said the cabinet was last seen loaded onto a helicopter that was hired by the Pike River Mine company.
            RNZ has this to say.

            Mr Little said neither he nor the Pike River Recovery Agency knows where the door is.

            “The agencies investigating the original explosion in 2010 were the police and what was then the Department of Labour, now WorkSafe. I’d be surprised if they don’t have [it] stored somewhere [with] all of the exhibits and the material they collected at that time as part of their investigation,” he said.

            Mr Little said he became aware of the missing evidence last week and the agencies involved in the original investigation were notified but would still be in the process of hunting it down.

            https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/382756/pike-river-door-likely-stashed-somewhere-safe-little

            If however they do not have the evidence and it is found that the Pike River company held onto it, then someone should be prosecuted.

    • Gabby 1.2
      18 February 2019 at 9:39 am

      Surely there must be some way to blame the union for this. Otherwise the police will have to fail to find any evidence of wrongdoing, and that’s such a chore.

      • Anne 1.2.1
        18 February 2019 at 10:03 am

        I agree, and a waste of valuable police time especially when they know they have to fail……..

      • Sabine 1.2.2
        18 February 2019 at 10:49 am

        does Andrew Little have a license to fly helicopters?

        • veutoviper 1.2.2.1
          18 February 2019 at 11:22 am

          LOL – I doubt it.

          But Jami-Lee Ross has a commercial pilot’s licence but I don’t know whether that includes helicopters; and he only got his full licence in 2012.

          Seriously, when I heard on RNZ news that the damaged cabinet was apparently loaded onto a helicopter and flown away into the unknown a few days after the explosion(s), my immediate thought was that flight records should reveal whose helicopter it was, the pilot, and destination etc.

          (Snap – Patricia Bremner)

    • RedLogix 1.3
      18 February 2019 at 9:55 am

      Absolutely. I cannot emphasis enough how basic and essential these hazardous area electrical standards are.

      They are well understood by everyone in the industry. Failure to comply is seriously criminal. Losing this evidence points to a blatant cover-up.

      Which leads to the obvious question,why has this photo only come to light now? What is the story behind this?

      • marty mars 1.3.1
        18 February 2019 at 10:20 am

        Does this add weight to your insurance job accusation?

        • Anne 1.3.1.1
          18 February 2019 at 10:30 am

          From memory Redlogix didn’t make any direct accusation marty. He submitted it as a possible motive in the event there did prove to have been a cover up. In my view it’s a possible motive with a degree of merit, although I’m more inclined to believe they simply panicked because they knew they were in mighty big trouble.

          • marty mars 1.3.1.1.1
            18 February 2019 at 10:44 am

            This ‘evidence’ if proven conclusive would scupper the insurance job angle unless it was planned years ago.

            “February 2019 at 9:16 pm
            A small paranoid part of me always suspected Pike River was an insurance job. Circumstantial evidence only, but this development does nothing dampen my darker suspicions.”

            That’s red’s quote.

            I think that is wild speculation that muddies the waters but I thought I’d check with red in case I missed stuff. I missed stuff last night and deleted comments last night.

            • RedLogix 1.3.1.1.1.1
              18 February 2019 at 10:52 am

              Anne has expressed it well, a combination of incompetence, panic and bad intentions has muddied the waters on this tragedy right from the outset.

              If someone has deliberately removed this cabinet door, this is direct evidence of very bad faith. If so then what else did they do?

              It’s how any investigator would think.

              • vto …
                18 February 2019 at 11:02 am

                “a combination of incompetence, panic and bad intentions has muddied the waters on this tragedy right from the outset”

                Having followed Pike River right from its conception in the minds of corporate bankers I think your assessment needs to apply from the very first spark of thought in the minds of those corporate bankers.

                It was never genuine.

                Evidenced, for example, by the company’s continual need to raise more capital because they didn’t spend enough on proving the ‘mineability’ (which costs) as opposed to the extent of the resource (which pays).

                • marty mars …
                  18 February 2019 at 11:51 am

                  I’ll leave you all to it because I’m out of my depth on these issues and I don’t really want to learn to swim.

                  • RedLogix …
                    18 February 2019 at 12:22 pm

                    You asked some pertinent questions and got me to clarify myself. No problem with that at all. 😀

                • xanthe …
                  18 February 2019 at 1:20 pm

                  VTO if you are going to question the motives of the corporate bankers as guilty parties (and I wholeheartedly agree we should) then we need to include the ministers of the then labour govt that conceived the whole mess as a poster child for environmentally sustainable “surgical” mining and then dismantled the mines inspectorate to allow it to go ahead. My point is that Pike River was a child of rogernomics and we must not stop until responsibility is placed there.

                  • vto …
                    18 February 2019 at 1:29 pm

                    Agree completely that Pike River is a result of neoliberalism. It illustrates the failings of that political philosophy in tragic ways.

        • RedLogix 1.3.1.2
          18 February 2019 at 10:33 am

          If it could be shown this cabinet was the sole source of the ignition I would agree this would tend to rule out a deliberate act.

          But way too soon to know.

          • marty mars 1.3.1.2.1
            18 February 2019 at 10:45 am

            That cabinet door is crucial and good to have your informed comments about them and their context ta.

          • xanthe 1.3.1.2.2
            18 February 2019 at 1:23 pm

            the “cabinet” of the fourth labour govt 1984-1990 was the primary source of ignition at pike river

            • mac1 1.3.1.2.2.1
              18 February 2019 at 1:54 pm

              That’s a hell of claim, xanthe, and needs a little more clarification. I understand the verbal play you’re enjoying, but beyond that lie the deaths of a lot of men………..

              I believe for example that the matter of the allowing of the setting-up of a coal mine is different from the matter of a poorly managed coal mine where there seems to have been a failure to ensure adequate safety practices.

              • xanthe …
                18 February 2019 at 5:52 pm

                hi mac1 If you cannot see the causal connection then you don’t understand Neo-liberalism.

                I do not make the claim just for the wordplay (attractive tho it is) but because the economic and regulatory environment were fundamental to this accident and these were imposed over the will of of New Zealanders and against expert advice at the time .

  2. cleangreen 2
    18 February 2019 at 8:41 am

    This smells bad;

    This sends us all the same bad taste we saw when the evidence was lost and was omitted from the Afghanistan inquiry evidence showing that NZ SAS did kill Innocent people,

    Corrupt little NZ we have now.
    This has a ‘cover-up’ opps all over it again sadly.

    National Party ‘helicoptered in’ Mark Mitchell was ‘an agent’ skilled in overt black opps cover-ups we found out so he should now be investigated right away.

  3. vto 3
    18 February 2019 at 9:02 am

    One of the “issues” during those first days after the explosion, was that the Police took control of the whole site, rather than mines rescue types…

    … the Police themselves have questions to answer here.

    Ask the Police where the item is, and what they were doing about evidence-gathering at the time?

    And ask the Police why the Pike River Mine company was even allowed on site during those following days, given they were clearly going to be investigated?

    Gary Knowles (copper in charge at the time) come in please …..

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/pike-river-2010/102344/police-chain-of-command-questioned-at-pike-hearing

    https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/pike-river-2010/84774/miners%27-mother-says-police-admit-mistakes-made

    • Exkiwiforces 3.1
      18 February 2019 at 1:08 pm

      I think you would find that the OHS and the then current Employment Laws allow the Police to take over as the lead authority as it was a work place accident. If Ms Fenton is about, she might be able to explain a bit better than I can?

      Now if the old Mines Dept wasn’t disestablished under the “No Mates Party” in the early 90’s. The first response would’ve come the mine’s own rescue team until the Mine Dept’s own mine rescue team and the local chief engineer or members of the Mines Dept Inspectorate which would then become the lead authority in the rescue.

      The CoC and response by Mines Dept had it not been disestablished in 90’s, was built on lessons learnt over the decades from other mining accidents and was a tried and tested system that work. But in saying that had the Mines Dept had still been around the Pike River Coal Mine would’ve never been built or could’ve been shut down due the technical issues they were in counting in Mine. Had the Mine got the all clear from the Mines Dept, it’s highly likely they would’ve gone tits up down the track when the coal price tank as the cost of bring the coal out would’ve unproductive from cost benefit/ coal production POV.

      From last nights writing about this

      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-02-2019/#comment-1584420

      https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17-02-2019/#comment-1584439

    • cleangreen 3.2
      18 February 2019 at 3:10 pm

      Yes vto; and ianmac,

      Like the Air NZ Erebus Inquiry quote;; were ‘a litany of lies’ .

      As we will see here from the ‘right’.

      There was a concerted cover up here going on under the last Government as usual, no matter what Sasha and incognito believe otherwise.

      ‘Dirty Politics’was sprouting out under national just around then as well.

      Thank God we have a government that wants to see the truth come out then.

      Hallelujah!!!

      • Tamati Tautuhi 3.2.1
        18 February 2019 at 5:23 pm

        The old “orchestrated littany of lies” from the Erebus Crash.

        Vital evidence went missing from the collision site on Mt Erebus and the Chief Pilot Causcious Collin’s house was broken into and his diaries, notebooks etc went missing ?

      • Incognito 3.2.2
        18 February 2019 at 10:36 pm

        I believe that you’re doubling down on OTT comments and you should be careful with your accusations that have no basis other than your conspiracy theories.

  4. ianmac 4
    18 February 2019 at 9:54 am

    Remember the Air NZ Erebus Inquiry or the Winebox Inquiry? Great efforts were made by “Authority” to diminish and exclude information. Why? Because the Government of the day needed to able to deny any blame that would reflect badly on them.

    Funny that all those events and Pike River happened during the tenure of National Governments.

    • bwaghorn 4.1
      18 February 2019 at 12:20 pm

      The sad thing is it will be reported as the government’s wrong doing. With very little effort to remind people the ut was during the nats tenure and that this stuff is only getting the light of day because if labour.

  5. Anne 5
    18 February 2019 at 10:15 am

    In the case of Air NZ, they covered up the fact a staff member had inserted the wrong coordinates into the flight-plan sending the plane over Erebus instead of the Ross Sea Valley. Add to that severe white-out conditions, and the pilots didn’t have a chance. They then had the gall to blame the pilots for the tragedy and when a well known senior Air NZ pilot, Gordon Vette wrote a book containing details of the truth, Muldoon in particular set about destroying his career and reputation.

    • marty mars 5.1
      18 February 2019 at 10:25 am

      Yes who can forget this

      “Mahon also claimed that the airline’s executives and management pilots had engaged in a conspiracy to whitewash the enquiry, accusing them of covering up evidence and misleading investigators through ‘an orchestrated litany of lies’. ”

      https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/erebus-disaster/inquiry

      An orchestrated litany of lies…

      • greywarshark 5.1.1
        18 February 2019 at 11:26 am

        I didn’t remember the extent of Muldoon’s hostility to Vette and Collins and Mahon et al. The way that Justice Mahon was criticised was outrageous and low; it cut across all proper protocols.

        Royal commissioner Justice Peter Mahon, whose report was published almost a year after Mr Chippindale’s, stunned the nation by accusing Air New Zealand of a massive cover-up of a computer blunder he said caused the crash.

        Exonerating the pilots of all blame, Justice Mahon said the computer navigation track of TE901 had been altered just before the flight, shifting the flightpath from the safe, flat expanse of McMurdo Sound to a collision course with Mt Erebus, without the pilots being told of the change.

        Captain Jim Collins, First Officer Greg Cassin and everyone else on the flight deck, including seasoned Antarctic explorer Peter Mulgrew, completely failed to see the looming disaster ahead of them.

        Justice Mahon said this failure had two causes. They believed they were over McMurdo Sound, the route of the previous sightseeing flights, the route Captain Collins was told he was going on at the flight briefing a few days before. And they were fooled by the optical illusion known as “whiteout”, caused by the sun shining from behind on to snow and ice below and clouds above, making it look as if they were flying over endless flat ice when, in fact, the ground was rising quickly.

        In phrases that rang around New Zealand and around the world, Justice Mahon, an eminent judge of the High Court, said Air New Zealand had presented his royal commission with “palpably false evidence” that originated “in a predetermined plan of deception” that could not have been the result of mistakes or faulty memories. “I am forced, reluctantly, to say that I had to listen to an orchestrated litany of lies,” he wrote in one of the most thundering denunciations penned in the report.

        Political and public pandemonium followed. Morrie Davis, the airline’s high-profile chief executive, felt forced to resign. Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon, a friend of Mr Davis, savaged Justice Mahon and his report. Pilots and aviation experts took entrenched sides, some supporting the Chippindale report and blaming the pilots, others supporting the Mahon report and blaming the airline.

        Air New Zealand went to the Court of Appeal in an attempt to have the Mahon findings overturned. The court stridently criticised the judge, ruling he should not have accused the airline of a cover-up without putting the allegation to its witnesses at the royal commission. Stunned, Justice Mahon resigned.

        Justice Mahon, increasingly isolated, appealed to the Privy Council, which, in a damning decision in October 1983, said he had “failed to observe the rules of natural justice” _ about the harshest thing that could be said about a judge.

        Air New Zealand declared itself vindicated. The Government and the airline’s supporters hailed the Chippindale report as the only true account of the disaster.
        1/31/2009
        http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/archive/national-news/265485/Erebus-crash-myths-and-reality

        Justice Peter Mahon (1 November 1923 – 11 August 1986
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Mahon_(judge)

        What the PM knew about Erebus – NZ Herald
        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/mt-erebus-crash/news/article.cfm?c_id=1500932…
        The one-man commission, the late Justice Peter Mahon, was slammed by Muldoon who refused to table his 1981 report which accused Air New Zealand …

        • mary_a 5.1.1.1
          18 February 2019 at 12:29 pm

          Thanks for that information greywarshark, which jogged my memory of the case.

          I believe as a result of the disgraceful way he was treated, the outcome was Justice Peter Mahon became another victim of the Erebus/Air NZ disaster.

          • greywarshark 5.1.1.1.1
            18 February 2019 at 6:38 pm

            Yes you forget, and it is something that shouldn’t be. He was only 63? when he died. I consider that the disappointment with his fellow judicials and the unseemly attack by hyena politicians and corporates brought him down.

            Similarly I think, though others might not agree, William B Sutch.
            https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/capital-life/67451537/null
            Sutch’s explanation for the meetings – that they were chats about things like Zionism and what New Zealand Chinese thought about China – were widely doubted.
            Wellington was rife with speculation and theories. Mention Sutch today and anyone who remembers him will have an opinion.

            ‘Widely doubted’ by tiny crevice minds with an obsessive fear of communism and a foolish attachment to capitalism and fascism, and a desire to mix and mingle with the upper echelons of the big capitalist countries and salute their skewed politics.

            • mary_a 5.1.1.1.1.1
              18 February 2019 at 8:32 pm

              Many thanks again for this case. You are really firing up my memory today.

              I also remember the William Sutch case. I really did think that he would be found guilty and go down, even though I did believe he was innocent. Yes, the establishment drove him to an early grave as well!

              As to Justice Peter Mahon, he died well before his time. He must have felt so isolated and alone at the time, after Muldoon’s National government along with the rest of the corporate vultures, picked and scavenged him to death. God it must have been awful for the poor man.

              RIP Justice Mahon. A fine, decent Kiwi who deserves nothing but the utmost respect.

        • cleangreen 5.1.1.2
          18 February 2019 at 3:19 pm

          Greywarshark;

          National never learned then, that lying gets you nowhere.

    • Tamati Tautuhi 5.2
      18 February 2019 at 5:26 pm

      One must remember Sir Robert Muldoon was not a particulary caring or nice person. IMHO.

  6. left_forward 6
    18 February 2019 at 10:17 am

    The previous Health and Safety Act was sufficient to prosecute the CEO, senior managers and board of Pike River with the evidence they had then even without this cover up. The new OTT OSH Act was just an expensive divergence by the last Government to implicate the inadequacy of the previous Act, rather than doing what our justice system ought to have done.
    Another orchestrated litany of lies?

  7. rata 7
    18 February 2019 at 11:14 am

    A cabinet door “may” be missing?
    “Could” point to cause of mine disaster.
    Seems to be flimsy “evidence”.

  8. mosa 8
    18 February 2019 at 12:39 pm

    This is like Erebus all over again.
    The police must act on this.
    It is removing vital evidence in a serious loss of life situation.
    It only goes to prove that yet again there has been corruption and obstructing the course of justice here and it MUST not stand.
    I still believe that the Key – English government and the Pike river mine company has done its best to cover up an appalling crime.
    This is not over and is a crime scene that warrants police action !!!!

  9. cleangreen 9
    18 February 2019 at 3:28 pm

    100% Mosa yes it does for sure.

    Better get sir John Key demoted to just -‘ disgraced John Key’ also please – It happened on his watch..

  10. OnceWasTim 10
    18 February 2019 at 4:06 pm

    Question to anyone and @ Micky Savage ( as a legal mind)
    There was an investigation (of sorts – given all the circumstances) into the disaster in which various witnesses were called.
    Who selected those witnesses and what was the basis for selection?
    If witness selection was based on inquiries by the Mines Inspectorate, Police and others, and based on records such as those held by the company (knowing as we now do that there is the possibility for management in both the company and the inspectorate to be worried about their ‘shortcomings’), I’m left wondering what the impact of a mines electrician might be.
    Especially if he had encountered misplaced and non-compliant (i.e. unsealed) electrical cabinets that contained such things as relays prone to sparking, or such things as a loose connection on a buzzbar), and who (before the disaster) had claimed the mine was a “disaster waiting to happen”, and that people knew about its shortcomings.
    The only electrician I’ve seen involved in the report (and I’m not questioning his competence in any way, or his desire to get to the bottom of things) is Mattheus Strydom.
    One thing the former Chief Inspector (Forster?) concerned about the misplaced evidence noted this morning on RNZ?, was that the cabinet door had small holes in it. I presume they could have been the small holes where rivets had been, fixing the door to the hinges on the cabinet although I’m not expert. However that may signal that the cabinet and its non-compliant and misplaced contents could be the ‘seat’ of an explosion.
    What is clearly evident is that Pike River was one very shoddy and casual operation – even to the extent that it allowed such an electrician’s girlfriend at the time to enter the place. They may as well have opened it to the public and charged a bloody admission fee to raise a bit of extra cash.

    • Exkiwiforces 10.1
      18 February 2019 at 4:51 pm

      Sorry to nit pick, but Mines Inspectorate was a part of the Mines Dept when it was disestablished by the “No Mates Party” when they in the OHS Laws in the early 90’s. They replace it something that had less scope, less enforcement, less oversight, less money to and less qualified people aka Jack of all Trades, but master of none approach to the new Dept, than would’ve been the case of old Mines Dept which had very strict and high entry standards, just to get your foot in the door.

      • OnceWasTim 10.1.1
        18 February 2019 at 5:18 pm

        yep @ ExKiwiforces – you’re not nit picking. I just couldn’t remember the name of the responsible body.
        I agree with Andrew Little that it’s possible the door has been stowed away somewhere safe and could eventually turn up (maybe it was in Gary Knowles’ garage for safekeeping – pardon the cynicism.
        My concern still stands – and that basically is that I am aware of an electrician who was worried about the state of the place, and whether or not he got to give evidence at an inquiry. I don’t know his name, although I do know the name of his former g/f who was taken into the mine. In fact this has caused a bit of a family rift in a ” we don’t need to get involved”, ” I’m sure they’ve thought of all that” kind of way.
        It’s all bloody shoddy, and it’s an insult to the public’s right to have an expectation that public service entities and legal processes are in place to protect their interests – rather than some corporate trying to make a fast buck at their expense.
        And if and when things go tits up, those responsible might be held to account.
        Not too quaint an idea is it? After all – we now have a more caring/sharing government (and one, incidentally) that I support. Stuff and things really do need to start happening though

    • cleangreen 10.2
      18 February 2019 at 4:52 pm

      All very good questions that is OnceWasTim,

      The witnesses were obviously ‘cherry picked’ to get the result they wanted, so we must have a major royal inquiry now to bring all the real facts out that appear to look like a concerted cover up by the last National Government..

      • OnceWasTim 10.2.1
        18 February 2019 at 5:38 pm

        Well possibly, possibly not (the cherry picking) – which is why I’d feel more confident in knowing how they were picked and how they became known as relevant.
        It’s kind of a ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’ situation, but when anything potentially relevant does become known, then it should be considered. It may come to nothing but given today’s revelations – including that cabinet door that has little holes in it – surely a sign that the cabinet’s contents were the source of the blast ………….. considering that the electrician’s knowledge of the state of it prior to the accident.
        But you know ….. she’ll be right! besides they’re both out of the country now and apparently too hard to trace

  11. Tamati Tautuhi 11
    18 February 2019 at 5:34 pm

    Many in different walks of life here in NZ, who are involved in the Health & Safety Industry have heard varying stories, about the cause of the Pike River Disaster, hopefully we will not have another whitewash like the Erebus Crash and the CTV Building in Christchurch whereby the Brotherhood here in NZ are actively protecting each other’s backs ?

  12. Cinny 12
    18 February 2019 at 5:36 pm

    So many dodgy dealings re Pike, thank goodness we had a change of government, and these families who have suffered for so long can get some answers.

    Was this the real reason that Campbell Live was axed?

    “This (Pike) was one of the stories our bosses told @pipkeane, me & the CLive team to stop covering.”

  13. Jum 13
    18 February 2019 at 6:28 pm

    I knew there should be a guard put on the mine site once a new Labour Government decided to investigate?
    Seems that was too late.

    The incriminating evidence was already being shipped/flown out.

  14. stuff the politicians 14
    18 February 2019 at 7:41 pm

    I have never understood why the Board of Pike River has not come in for more scrutiny over the fiasco.
    After all , it was the board who applied pressure to keep the production up and keep the mine rolling and to keep the shareholders happy.
    And we all know the cost of that.

    I can only imagine the pressure they were placing on the day to day managers, that would have been huge.

    • RedLogix 14.1
      19 February 2019 at 6:12 am

      Mining is an inherently risky business. Not just physically but commercially. Startup miners like Pike River are even more risky, especially those with only one hole in the ground.

      The development period between commissioning and full production is always fraught with technical issues and delays, right at the period where the company has spent all it’s budget, but has yet to see any cash flow. It’s a high pressure, high stakes game not for the faint-hearted and incompetent. Many companies fall over at this point, or get taken out by a larger operation. It’s not so much about keeping the shareholders ‘happy’, it’s usually about survival.

      None of this justifies what happened in the slightest; I do agree that the Board did escape scrutiny. Everything I read on this strongly suggest that in the weeks before the disaster, PR was effectively insolvent, they lacked cash, production was proving much more difficult than planned, and they had contracts they couldn’t fill.

      There is probably a good argument that the Board should have closed the operation down and declared bankruptcy on purely commercial grounds. Then there is the question of their governance and safety oversight which seems to have been sacrificed in the race to production.

      I have some experience working for large global scale mining companies; absolutely PR fell lamentably short of the governance standards that are commonplace elsewhere in the developed world. Nor was ignorance an excuse; there were any number of qualified people who knew the operation was deeply flawed; only a grossly negligent Board could not have been aware of these doubts.

      On a personal note I was dealing with a safety equipment vendor some months prior and in conversation I asked about his market in NZ, commenting that while globally the company had a big presence in coal, in this country it must be much smaller. His words were along the lines, “Pike River is the only new opportunity, and I won’t go near the place, it’s a death trap”.

      Someone once wrote that the reason why there were no prosecutions was not because there was no-one to prosecute; but because there were too many.

      • xanthe 14.1.1
        19 February 2019 at 10:01 am

        “Someone once wrote that the reason why there were no prosecutions was not because there was no-one to prosecute; but because there were too many.”

        yup!……… and a whole ideological system

  15. Jum 15
    18 February 2019 at 7:43 pm

    So, in the end, it was the greed of the shareholders that led to the murder of the men?

    • stuff the politicians 15.1
      18 February 2019 at 9:13 pm

      There was a lot of money involved and much of it borrowed.
      I am not talking about the Mum and Dad shareholders, they have no say.

      The large stake holders always want a return on investment.

  16. SHG 16
    19 February 2019 at 4:43 am

    You know who has a chopper licence?

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/3593858-3×2-940×627.jpg

    BACK AND TO THE LEFT.

  17. Sacha 17
    20 February 2019 at 7:15 pm

    The person who literally wrote the book about Pike adds some important context: https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/20-02-2019/why-the-missing-pike-river-evidence-really-matters/

  18. Exkiwiforces 18
    20 February 2019 at 8:37 pm

    Has anyone seen this article from the Spinoff? Very last paragraph is very interesting and btw I’m flicking this article off to the old man for his view.

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/20-02-2019/why-the-missing-pike-river-evidence-really-matters/