What could actually come of re-entering the Pike River mine? With new evidence, a case could be built against the mine's former management, a lawyer says.
Pike River families lawyer Nigel Hampton QC says he's interested in what will be found in the mine after re-entry, telling The AM Show on Thursday evidence might be discovered that could enable prosecutions to be taken.
"We start from that basis that police inquiries had reached the view that there had been gross failure in the duties that the Pike River management held," said Mr Hampton, reflecting on a police investigation into former Pike River boss Peter Whittall.
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"The police announced that they'd come to the view that they had sufficient evidence to bring Criminal Nuisance charges against Peter Whittall, but decided not to, in view of the fact that the then-Department of Labour was prosecuting him."
"You're then looking for evidence that would prove causatively that the gross negligence was causative in their first explosion and the resultant deaths of the 29 men."
The Supreme Court agreed with Pike River families last year that government Ministry MBIE acted against the law when it "secretly bargained" to allow Mr Whittall to make a cash payment to avoid facing any charges for his part in the disaster.
"There was a case able to be taken under the Crimes Act against Peter Whittle for what's called Criminal Nuisance which meant there was sufficient evidence of gross negligence, gross breach of duty, by Mr Whittall in his capacity," said Mr Hampton.
His comments come after Pike River Minister Andrew Little announced on Wednesday the Government's plan to re-enter the mine. The 2010 explosion killed 29 people, which led to the investigation into Mr Whittall, the former chief executive of Pike River Coal Ltd.
Mr Hampton has been representing Anna Osborne, widow of Pike River miner Milton Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse who lost her son Ben in the explosion. He helped the women stop the mine from being closed, after the former National Government said it was too dangerous to re-enter.
"I don't act for the full range of families, but as I understand it, there are only two, possibly three, families within the families of the 29 that hold a different view and that relates to leaving the bodies of their loved ones undisturbed," he said.
"[Those families] think that [the bodies] are suitably entombed where they lie. So that's the difference.
"I come from a different perspective. I've always said to Anna and Sonya and to Bernie Monk [whose son Michael died in the mine disaster] that my interest is the forensic evidence that's obtainable rather than the bodies that are obtainable by re-entry into this drift."
He said the re-entry team may get into the mine and "find nothing that is determinative", because any sufficient evidence "may have been destroyed in the explosion".
But Mr Hampton believes negligence from Mr Whittle "permeated down through the workforce" and he seems confident that were sufficient evidence found, criminals charges could be laid.
"It's really that evidential chain that has to be filled in and that's the difficulty at the moment as well as getting into the mine itself."
Newshub.
