62 LISTENER AUGUST 10 2019GET
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IMA
GES
80 YEARS
November 19, 2010. Nine years
on, experts are still trying to
solve one of this country’s
most heartbreaking mysteries:
who or what was to blame for
the Pike River Mine explosion
that killed 29 men?
The broad answer is almost
certainly
corner-
cutting and
lamentable
workplace-
safety
practices
and
invigilation.
Whatever
specific fac-
tors caused
the critical
buildup of
methane
to explode,
inquir-
ies have found numerous
lapses on the part of the
mine’s owner and manage-
ment. A royal commission
of inquiry also identified
an inadequate and under-
resourced safety regime that
meant the Department of
Labour’s inspection services
were sparse and the existing
regulation of mine operations
insufficient. The department’s
successful prosecution of the
later-defunct mine owners,
Pike River Coal, and of VLI Drill-
ing, in 2012, brought no sense
of atonement for the grieving
families or the wider public.
The companies said they wereable to pay out only a portion
of the $110,000 compensation
the court ordered be given
to each of the dead men’s
families.
Charges were later dropped
against the chief executive
Peter Whittall and a $3.4 mil-
lion payout was
subsequently
agreed to,
to be shared
among the
families. Two
widows later
challenged
this decision
in court as
“chequebook
justice”. The
Supreme Court
unanimously
declared the
move by Work-
Safe NZ to offer
no evidence against Whittall
was unlawful.
The Labour-led Government
agreed to fund a multi-phased
mine re-entry programme,
which began in May this year,
but so far no reliable new
evidence has been recov-
ered. The Government is also
considering introducing a new
law to enable prosecution for
corporate manslaughter. Pike
River surpassed the death toll
of 19 killed in the Strongman
Mine explosion at Rūnanga in- In this disaster, too, it was
found that safety regulations
had not been followed in the
lead-up to the explosion.
We may no longer be the
utopia of three million people
and 60 million sheep, but
New Zealand is one of the
world’s most global-centric
economies, with export
earnings comprising a third
of our economy. We lead the
world in pioneering free-trade
deals because our economy
depends on them – though
these days, our modern
super-earner, dairy, vies with a
non-exporter, tourism, as our
top foreign-exchange earner.
Dairy remains king, in the
sense that it’s something
we do more efficiently than
anyone else in the world- one reason farmers are
so chippy about pending
emissions trading and other
environmental penalties.
Even factoring in transport - now environmentally
black-marked as “food
miles” – our dairy exports are
still price-competitive and
greener than competitors’.
Concentrated milk is the
most valuable cargo we ship,
followed by sheep and goat
meat, butter, unprocessed
wood and beef. Tourism has
boomed partly from global
PR as a result of the Lord of
the Rings movie franchise
and our new reputation as a
“billionaires’ idyllic bolt-hole”.
Tourist leaders hope high-end
tourism will mostly supplant
cheap-seats package deals,
as it’s more lucrative and
environmentally sustainable.
The
sector provides one in seven
jobs, and is ahead of dairy as
our primary export earner,
comprising 21% of total
foreign income. We’ve also
developed other globally
lucrative new niche sectors
besides movies, including
information technology,
and mānuka honey, which
commands such a premium it
has fuelled a domestic crime
wave in beehive thefts. Oil,
one of our top 10 exports,
according to the industry,
faces an uncertain future,
the Government having
curtailed further exploration
of fossil fuels, though existing
contracts are grandfathered
until 2030. The National
Party says it will overturn the
ban if re-elected. Analysts
predict the next bonanza
is in forestry, because of
our future reliance on trees
as carbon sinks to offset
greenhouse-gas emissions.
The existing trend for mainly
overseas-based investors
to develop plantations here
is expected to grow by
multiples. The farm sector
fears this could outprice and
overwhelm other sectors,
with beef, sheep and other
productive land going into
carbon-farming.Global reach Pike River tragedy