3 September 2013

Govt needs to recover Pike River victims

The entire West Coast community supports a plan to re-enter the Pike River mine, West Coast-based Green MP Kevin Hague said today.

The Government has approved conditional funding of a staged plan to re-enter and explore the main tunnel leading up to the rock fall at the Pike River coal mine. The criteria for re-entry into the tunnel as well as stressing safety also emphasises that re-entry must be ‘financially credible’.

“It is good news the Government is finally putting an effort into re-entering the Pike River mine,” Mr Hague said.

“The comments by Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges that recovery of the victims depended on the cost are concerning, however.

“The recovery of those killed in the Pike River mine disaster should never have been simply about money.

“The main issue for their recovery is the safety of those tasked with the operation.

“The West Coast community needs closure and this can only come with the retrieval of the bodies of those lost in the Pike River mine disaster.

“The families of the men lost in the Pike River disaster will have difficulty in moving on to the next stage in their grieving until this has been dealt with properly.

“As well as providing closure for the families, re-entering the mine offers an opportunity to discover what exactly happened to cause this disaster,” Mr Hague said.

“Any further knowledge in this area can only assist health and safety in future.”

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