By Anneke Smith of RNZ
Pike River families say their meeting with the Workplace Safety Minister on the 15th anniversary of the Pike Mine disaster was "a complete waste of time".
Twenty-nine workers died following an explosion at the West Coast coal mine at 3.45pm on November 19 in 2010. Their bodies have not been recovered. Two workers survived and managed to get out.
Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse sat down with the minister, Brooke van Velden, at Parliament yesterday.
"I don't know, I've come out of there still feeling really unhappy because there's just no guarantees that people who go to work are going to return home safely," Obsorne said.
"She seemed to be focusing all the time on the employers and I sat and listened to it for a little while and then I just couldn't stand it," Rockhouse said.
Both women went into the meeting wanting to share their concerns that van Velden's workplace reforms were weakening safety laws and risking another disaster.
Rockhouse said she doesn't feel reassured.
"She gave a lip service, she listened, but didn't really say anything. You know, that sort of thing when somebody's talking but they're not really saying much? That's how it felt.
"I walked out of there thinking, 'Man that was just a complete waste of time.'"
The pair support the introduction of a corporate manslaughter charge and said they had found support for the idea with opposition parties and New Zealand First.
"In New Zealand, it's real easy to pass the buck. It's not not one person's fault, it's another's, you know," Osborne said.
"So, we just need somebody with some balls who's prepared to really put their heart and soul into getting this health and safety legislation and the reforms working properly for all New Zealanders."
Peters unhappy
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters yesterday described the Pike River mine as "a murder scene" and hinted at his dissatisfaction with relevant workplace safety settings.
He met with Osborne and Rockhouse and promised to advocate for progress on what he described as "the most unsatisfactory circumstance".
"[The meeting went] very, very well. We laid out a plan of action and work for us to do privately, myself and my team.
"We were the ones that demanded an inquiry, the only party that did at the time. We think we were dramatically let down by the way the inquiry was run and we don't give up on this. We think this is a murder scene."
Asked if he was happy with the current workplace safety settings, he said no.
"Not on this matter, most definitely not. And I intend to make that known."
Van Velden has been overhauling workplace safety with a mind to shift WorkSafe's focus from enforcement to advice and guidance.
She said there were too many people dying at work and helping businesses follow the law - as well as backing a record number of workplace inspectors - was the best way to tackle this.
She did not accept Osborne and Rockhouse's concerns that history may repeat itself, despite having no evidence her approach will result in fewer workplace deaths.
"You can't really point to any particular one industry or group or bit of evidence to say this is what would end up happening in the future.
"What we have as a health and safety system, is a lot of individuals getting up every day, providing jobs and doing a lot of actions on the ground.
"There are accidents that will happen. What I'm wanting to focus on is, how do I improve the overall economy and the situation that businesses and workers find themselves in?"
Van Velden said she did not support introducing a corporate manslaughter charge, instead preferring to focus on "upfront guidance" for businesses.
"I'm asking all businesses, workers and the regulator to focus on critical risk, which is actions that could lead to death and serious injury and illness, and to stamp those out and focus our efforts there, rather than sweating a lot of small stuff.
"We know there are a lot of companies out there really fearful of what it means to comply with the law but they're ticking boxes and I'd like people across the country to focus on action on the ground to reduce deaths on the ground."
Justice Minster Paul Goldsmith said there were no current plans to introduce a corporate manslaughter charge as the government had a very busy legislative agenda in the justice space.
Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori support a corporate manslaughter charge.
