Lawyer for Pike River families says police have enough evidence to lay manslaughter charges over disaster
Police believe they have enough evidence to lay manslaughter charges against officials involved in the Pike River mine disaster, the Herald has learned.
The explosion, which killed 29 men, occurred 15 years ago.
Despite the extraordinary amount of time that’s passed, the quest for accountability has been ongoing – led in part by Sonya Rockhouse, who lost her son Ben, and Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton died.
While it’s been known police and the Crown Solicitor have been trying to decide whether to lay charges, Nigel Hampton, KC, who represents the women, told the Herald police believe they have sufficient evidence to prosecute certain people for manslaughter.
“The further evidence they [the police] have obtained leads them to the view that not only have they got further evidence of gross negligence but there are instances where they think that they can prove that those acts of gross negligence were causative of the explosion, and of the deaths which equals manslaughter,” he told the Herald.
He said it was “potentially” a positive development in the long-running saga but cautioned that the outcome might not be everything his clients hoped for.
Hampton was reluctant to go into further detail, saying some information he’s privy to is confidential and the final decision rests with the Crown Solicitor in Wellington, who was going “back and forth” with police on the issue.
Hampton hoped there would be clarity on the matter before Christmas.
Rockhouse said she was cautiously optimistic, telling the Herald that after 15 years, the Crown Solicitor “better make the right decision”.
“We are feeling pretty confident. Hopeful. We’ve had to be a little careful about what we’ve said over time as the police can’t promise anything. As they have told us, it’s not up to them. It’s up to Crown Law,” she said.
“They [the police] are waiting with bated breath too because they believe they have enough evidence,” she said.
The officer in charge, Detective Superintendent Darryl Sweeney, told the Herald police continued to work with the Crown Solicitor on the case and couldn’t give a timeframe for when a final decision would be made.
“This case is incredibly complex and it’s important we do it once and do it right,” Sweeney told the Herald.
A spokeswoman for Crown Law acknowledged work on a decision about prosecution was ongoing but couldn’t comment further.
Rockhouse was full of praise for police, whom she believed had done all they could to present as strong a case as possible.
‘Disgusting’ it’s taken 15 years
As far back as 2013, police had evidence of negligence at Pike River and said they could have brought a charge of criminal nuisance at that time.
However, they backed away from doing so, citing concerns about double jeopardy as WorkSafe was also leading a prosecution.
WorkSafe laid charges against former Pike River boss Peter Whittall, but the case was dropped after a $3.4 million settlement was paid – a deal the Supreme Court later said was unlawful.
It was “chequebook justice” according to Rockhouse, who hoped Whittall was in the sights of police once again amid fresh efforts to prosecute.
In 2013, police didn’t have enough evidence to support laying manslaughter charges but that all changed when they started exploring the interior of the mine by drilling a series of boreholes and working with experts to do forensic examinations inside the mine’s drift.
Police drilled a total of 18 boreholes between 2021 and 2023 and located the remains of 12 of the 29 dead miners.
Other evidence was also located including one of two missing drift runners – vehicles used to transport miners and materials underground.
Special cameras were custom-built or modified for the multimillion-dollar investigation.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters described Pike River mine as “a murder scene” on Wednesday, which was the 15th anniversary of the disaster.
Rockhouse was scathing about the length of time that had passed since the mine explosion but was unwavering in her determination to get answers.
“It’s disgusting it’s taken 15 years, and one government blames the other government and on it goes. We just want them to make a decision [on prosecution]. Stop fobbing it off,” she told the Herald.
She said those fighting for justice had “copped a lot of crap” online for not moving on, but she said her fight was about the principle of finding out the truth for her son.
“I’m 67, I don’t want to be 80 and on my death bed and be thinking ‘God they still haven’t done anything’.”
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald’s video team in July 2024.