Defunct Department of Labour cops criticism over Pike River evidence flaws

Wednesday, 20 February 2019

The West Coast mine, north of Greymouth, exploded in 2010, killing 29 men.

Police have criticised the Department of Labour's investigation into the Pike River mine disaster.

In documents released by a group representing some Pike River families, police admit their handling of evidence was 'diabolical'.

A former chief mines inspector says missing piece of evidence could point to cause of Pike River Mine disaster.

The also lay the blame on the Department of Labour (DOL), now WorkSafe, which was carrying out its own health and safety investigation after 29 men died in the West Coast mine in November 2010. It successfully laid charges against the mine company and a contractor, but withdrew charges against mine boss Peter Whittall.

Notes from a police debrief on Operation Pike on April 26, 2012, reveal the handling of evidence was chaotic. An exhibits officer was not appointed until several weeks after the explosion.

Pike River family members Anna Osborne, Sonya Rockhouse and Bernie Monk.

Flames coming out of a ventilation shaft at the Pike River mine after a fourth explosion.

* No magic, much mystery, about Pike River's disappearing cabinet cover

* Pike River families claim 'vital' evidence from mine explosion has been lost

* Pike River re-entry: Police will not be among first into mine drift**

The cover of an electrical cabinet was blown to the surface in one of the explosions. After it was photographed, Tony Forster, a former mines chief inspector now advising the Pike River families, told TVNZ he understood it was flown by helicopter to the Pike River office. Its current whereabouts are unknown.

The notes suggest the Department of Labour did not pass all relevant information on to police.

'The difficulty was DOL seizing exhibits and [police] not knowing what they had. DOL handled some key exhibits [taking to Australia, sending things away] without recording chain of custody, so if tested in court could be difficult.'

They say the Department of Labour and police were not working together, but should have been.

The notes say the Department of Labour was conflicted in investigating its own staff's failings in inspecting and ensuring the mine was safe prior to the explosion.

The Department of Labour hand-picked which contractors to, interview instead of screening them. It missed 40 per cent of contractors, and interviewed only between 10 and 20 per cent of those interviewed by police.

A WorkSafe spokesperson said it could not comment because the organisation did not exist at the time of the investigation.

Police have never laid criminal charges despite saying in 2013 there was enough evidence to lay criminal nuisance charges. They said at the time they would not proceed with the charge because of the pending Department of Labour charges. Police have since said new charges could be laid if evidence is found in the upcoming re-entry of the mine's drift.

Kate Wilkinson resigned as Labour Minister after the release of the report from the Royal Commission on the Pike River in 2012. The commission made 16 recommendations covering administrative reform, stronger regulation, changes to mining legislation and emergency management.

However, some of the Pike families believe the commission did not hear all the evidence and a new full inquiry was needed.

Sonya Rockhouse, who lost her son, Ben, in the mine, said the documents showed the need to reinvestigate what happened at Pike.

'We knew that the recovery of the drift would uncover evidence, but we didn't expect it would lead to this. It shows just how much we need to get into the drift to get more evidence and put it in front of a proper inquiry.'