Pike River Mine re-entry scheduled for May 3
Tuesday, 12 March 2019
The original Pike River families spokesman says he has resigned from a group representing the families because he would not sign a confidentiality agreement.
Bernie Monk, whose son Michael was killed in the Pike River mine in November 2010, said he had resigned from the Family Reference Group (FRG).
The group was set up to work with the Pike River Recovery Agency on re-entry on behalf of the Pike River families, and to act as a liaison between families and the agency.
The group is now made up of Pike widow Anna Osborne, Pike mother Sonya Rockhouse, documentary filmmaker Tony Sutorius and Wellington communications advisor Rob Egan.
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Monk said he refused to sign the 'no surprises' document, which included not revealing information that could interfere with the police investigation.
'You can't bind me to a confidentiality agreement. I'm standing my ground I'm not going to do it,' he said.
After speaking up for families for more than eight years, Monk did not want to be silenced or have to consult police before speaking either to the wider Pike families or media.
However, he still had a good relationship with police and would continue to help Pike families, he said.
'I've since spoken to the police and they've said they don't need me to sign anything and they will still fill me in on what's happening but I won't be part of the FRG.
'It's business as usual for me but without the restraint of other people. I will still be spokesman for the families and fighting for justice and accountability first and foremost.'
Police Assistant Commissioner (Response and Operations) Tusha Penny said Monk had not been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement, but 'partnership agreement' at the FRG's request.
'The purpose of the agreement is to promote open and transparent communication between the parties in respect of the re-entry to the Pike River mine.'
Stuff has asked police for a copy of the agreement and the wording of any clauses regarding confidentiality.
Rockhouse said the group decided to form the agreement so police and Government agencies could be confident information given to the group would be kept confidential.
'We have had leaks and we didn't know what was going on so we wanted to sign the agreement. Sometimes we are told things that can't be released out straight away. Often timing is a critical thing.'
She said Monk had done an 'awesome' job for Pike families and would still be involved with the Stand With Pike group.
Meanwhile, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little has announced the date for the planned re-entry of the Pike River mine will be May 3.
He said the re-entry would only happen if all of the necessary pre-conditions had been met.
Twenty-nine men died in the West Coast mine during a series of explosion on November 19, 2010. It is hoped re-entry could provide clues as to what caused the explosion.
Rockhouse said it was fantastic news to finally have a date for re-entry.
'We've now got a date after all these years waiting and nothing was happening. Things started moving and now we've got a date. It's just awesome,' she said.
Monk said the families had been waiting for re-entry for more than eight years.
'History is being made on the third of May. It's quite exciting.
'This plan is very similar to the plan we had in 2013. Finally it is coming to fruition. If it wasn't for this coalition Government we would never be going in. I take my hat off to the Pike River families for sticking with it and the Government for making it happen,' he said.
He was not concerned about the timeline pushing out to May.
'We've always said it is not a rushing job. It's about safety and doing the job properly. They have crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's and made sure its safe,' he said.
Little said work completed in preparation for re-entry included preparing bridges for heavy loads, installing a nitrogen plant, upgrading the power supply, laying many kilometres of piping for the nitrogen, drilling more boreholes, installing monitoring equipment, and purging and ventilating the drift.
He said re-entry could not go ahead until more compressed air lines were installed, underground equipment such as loaders, roof bolting rigs, a driftrunner and a refuge chamber arrived from Australia, and a concrete seal at 30 metres could be breached.
“Once the 30-metre seal is breached, then the re-entry and recovery operation can begin.'
In February, police said they would not accompany the first Pike River mine re-entry team due to safety concerns, but would consider entering earlier if there was a 'critical' find, such as human remains and evidence.
Assistant Commissioner (Response and Operations) Tusha Penny said the approach was best practice for any forensic scene examination. The scene examination was important, but safety took precedence, she said.
Miners employed by the Pike River Recovery Agency were the best people to enter the drift first, she said.
'When there's something, remains or evidence, even if they're guessing, they will stop, come out, talk to our experts, our trained investigators we will have a full team at the top of that drift.'
Little said police would be on site managing forensic work from the start of the re-entry.
The project was on track to meet its current budget of $36 million, he said.