Government Bill Undoes Pike River Legacy: Pike Families – Stand With Pike
The legacy of the Pike River mine disaster is once again at the centre of political debate, as families of the 29 men who died warn that proposed law changes could weaken workplace safety protections across New Zealand.
Pike River families say protections are being dismantled
Proposed changes to health and safety legislation are a betrayal of the 29 men who died in the Pike River mine, say family members Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse.
Rushed law changes raise alarm over worker safety
The changes which are being rushed through select committee tomorrow will remove safeguards put in place by the last National government in response to the Pike River tragedy.
“This destroys the legacy of our men”
Pike River widow Anna Osborne lost her husband Milt in the explosion. She says the changes and the way they are being rushed through is disgraceful. “One of the few good things that came out of Pike River was stronger laws protecting everyone at work.
“That’s a part of the legacy of our men, one of the things that gave some meaning to their deaths and now this government is destroying it.
“The Minister driving this – Brooke van Velden – might as well be kicking over the men’s memorial stones at Atarau.”
“Rammed through under cover of darkness”
Sonya Rockhouse’s 21-year-old son, Ben, was killed at Pike River and her son, Dan, was one of just two survivors. She says she is appalled by the way the government is rushing through these changes. “The way they have given us such short notice and so little time to state our case is cynical and wrong.
“This is law that will erode people’s protections at a time they are needed most, and they are trying to shove it through under the cover of darkness.
“Pike River was a moment of national tragedy but also of national shame that successive governments had allowed the law to become so toothless.
“That a government would let it happen again, despite the price our men and their families have paid and the fact that all of New Zealand has seen that cost, isn’t shameful. It’s sociopathic.”
Anna and Sonya have been given 10 minutes to put their case to the workforce select committee tomorrow.
For the families who paid the ultimate price, this is not abstract policy — it is about whether the lessons of Pike River are honoured or erased. If those hard-won protections are rolled back, the question will remain: what was learned, and at whose cost?
