On May 27, the New Zealand Labor Party-led government officially rejected a Conceptual Development Plan submitted by international mining experts to further investigate the Pike River underground coal mine, in order to uncover the precise causes of the 2010 disaster that killed 29 workers.
The Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) developed the plan on behalf of 23 of the 29 families of the men who died in Pike River. The group includes former chief mine inspector Tony Forster, British mining engineer David Creedy and mine rescue expert Brian Robinson. They have all studied the disaster for years and have provided advice to government agencies on how the mine can be safely explored for evidence and potentially human remains.
In the ten and a half years since the disaster, no business leader has been brought to justice for turning Pike River into a death trap. Despite overwhelming evidence of gross safety violations at the mine, including the lack of a second exit and grossly insufficient ventilation, police insisted that criminal charges could not be laid without examining physical evidence of the mine.
The ITAG plan focuses on the recovery of an additional 130 meters of underground roadway, mainly in order to access the main ventilation unit. Pike River has placed its main fan underground, which is unheard of in coal mines due to the risks involved in the event of malfunction or breakdown. The 2012 royal commission identified the ventilator as a possible source of ignition for the first explosion.
By rejecting the plan, the Labor government, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, is reneging on its 2017 election pledge to do everything possible to investigate the mine, gather evidence for prosecution and work with the families of the victims on all the decisions. A team of miners walked 2.2 kilometers to the gallery, or entrance tunnel, but the government refuses to provide them with funds to continue past two roof falls and into the construction sites of the mine.
Pike River Reintegration Minister Andrew Little took less than three weeks to reject the ITAG proposal, following advice from the Pike River Recovery Agency (PRRA). little said Thing that he sought advice “in good faith and with an open mind”, but the plan was clearly not seriously considered, with Little refusing to allow a full risk assessment or costing.
Little’s decision was made on May 27 and overshadowed by most of the media, with a report released by Thing four days later. The government, aided by the entire political establishment, media and labor unions, is rushing to end the underground investigation and seal the mine permanently, with as little public attention as possible.
The goal is to protect business leaders, politicians, government regulators and union representatives who all bear responsibility for the conditions that led to the Pike River disaster. This includes Little, who, as the leader of the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU, now called E tū) in 2010, defended Pike River Coal’s safety record after the first explosion. .
The PRRA’s four-page advisory in Little conceded that the ITAG plan is “technically feasible” – contrary to Little’s previous statements to the media that the area around the roof falls was “inherently unstable” and it would be too. difficult to deal with security risks. Little said he rejected the plan “because of the significant costs … and unquantifiable technical issues with the plan, and because recovery beyond the drift exceeds the authority mandated by the agency’s cabinet.” .
The PRRA rejected ITAG’s estimate that passing through the roof chutes (which appear to be made entirely of coal) and salvaging the main fan area would cost less than $ 8 million. Previously, the PRRA told media it could cost anywhere from $ 60 million to $ 100 million. That amount has been revised to $ 20-25 million, largely based on the time it would take to complete risk assessments and get approvals from regulatory agency WorkSafe.
In 2017, the Labor Party and its then coalition partners, the Greens and NZ First, reported that once the back-to-school team neared the roof drop, the government would consider going further. far in the mine. If this promise had been kept, the risk assessments and corresponding feasibility studies could have been launched months ago.
Bernie Monk, whose son Michael died in Pike River, told the World Socialist Website that the government had previously relied on the advice of Tony Forster and other ITAG experts when it was preparing to re-enter the drift. “Now that [Forster’s] actually have a plan to finish this job, they don’t show him any respect. It’s upsetting how they treated all the experts, ”Monk said.
When the Labor Party was in opposition, it promoted these same experts. In parliament on December 13, 2016, Little asked Prime Minister Bill English: was written by Dr David Creedy, vice chair of the United Nations Coal Mine Methane Expert Panel, and Bob Stevenson, former inspector lead mining expert in the UK, and that the report has been peer reviewed and approved by UK lead mine rescue expert Brian Robinson and mining ventilation experts John Rowland and Dr Roy Moreby?
Little also asked, “Why [English] not doing the right thing, listening to families and keeping his government’s promise to do all it can to get their men out? “
Dean Dunbar, whose son Joseph died at the age of 17 in the Pike River disaster, told the WSWS: “Andrew Little and the Labor government used the Pike River disaster as a means of entering Parliament … When Andrew Little said on national television [on May 12] that the families of Pike River got justice, I have no idea what he’s talking about.
Dunbar said Prime Minister Ardern “should take center stage instead of hiding behind others”. Ardern said nothing about the decision to reject the ITAG plan.
He warned that the government was moving quickly to dismantle the investigation and “permanently seal the crime scene, seal the evidence, seal the bodies.” Police said the investigation would continue with cameras lowered through boreholes in some areas of the mine, but Dunbar said it would be the “second best” collection of evidence.
He added, “There’s no rhyme or reason that they can’t put a temporary seal on it… They want that permanent seal and they want it done and dusted off.” Well, they won’t do it without a fight, because we’re not going to let them do it to us. “
Monk believed that the evidence gathered by cameras lowered through boreholes would be inadequate in any court case. He said finding the precise cause of the explosion was also necessary to prevent other mines around the world from functioning as Pike River did. “We have to stop people from putting fans under the ground” and having no second way out, he said.
“We have to go out there and get this information out, end of story, there is no excuse,” he said. Commenting on claims that getting into the mine works is too expensive, Monk pointed to media reports that the Auckland government and Council are willing to spend $ 100 million to host the next yacht race in the ‘America’s Cup, in addition to the $ 250 million spent on last year’s race. . The amount spent on the investigation to uncover the truth and obtain justice for the deaths of 29 workers is paltry in comparison.
