Dunne Peter: Motions — Pike River Mine West Coast—Tragedy 
Dunne Peter: Motions — Pike River Mine West Coast—Tragedy 
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Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) 
: 
 There are thankfully only a few awful tragedies in the life of a nation that are so powerful in their impact so searing on the emotions that we all stop still frozen in time as it were for that moment and reflect upon what has happened what its impact is going to be and what its impact on us as a nation has been. Although it would be infelicitous to make comparisons I can think of a few in my own lifetime to which the tragic events at Pike River must now be added. It is not just awful as it is the death of 29 miners in horrific circumstances; this was an event that stopped a nation. We all felt for those miners—desperately—and even more so for their families and loved ones their friends their neighbours and their colleagues. Every time Peter Whittall appeared on television to provide an update we could see and feel his pain and his genuine sense of wanting desperately to bring those men out alive and we were with him. Yesterday’s events dashed whatever remaining hopes there were in that regard and now a country a region and individual families deal with the consequences. 
I guess that for those families there will be the awful shock of adjusting to what has happened. There will be the consolation of a tight-knit community and the love of a nation all around them. But sadly that is passing. Once the memorial services have been held and once life starts to pick up its inevitable threads again their pain will endure and their grief will carry on. The real challenge for all of us in this compassionate society is about their ongoing support and their ongoing place in our collective heart as we struggle to overcome the consequences of this tragedy. 
It bites deep. It is not just a case of thinking about the West Coast and what has happened there. Earlier this morning I was visiting Inland Revenue Department staff in Christchurch partly in the wake of the events that they have suffered following the Christchurch earthquake only to be informed that one of the staff members in Christchurch is the mother of one of those lost in the mine. So we have people who have gone through a different set of emotions following an earthquake coming together to get over those to now be faced with another tragedy in their midst. This must surely be New Zealand’s annus horribilis. 
At this time our words are inadequate however well meant and our gestures however well meant will not be enough. Our challenge as a people as we stand still so numbed by this shock so awestruck by what has happened is to never forget those families to do what we can to assist them materially and otherwise right now and into the future and to pay them the ultimate courtesy of finding out what happened what lessons can be learnt and what steps can be taken to prevent any form of repetition at a future date. 
Much has been said about the heart and soul of the miners and I acknowledge particularly the comments from my colleague Mr Hide regarding Milton Osborne who as I said the other day had been a candidate for United Future at the 2005 general election. I acknowledge the stories we are hearing about so many of the other miners—their contributions to life well beyond their working careers to their families their communities and their sports. I acknowledge also the hopes that are now diminished and will never be achieved and the aspirations unmet. 
This is an occasion where we all figuratively want to give those suffering people one giant hug of support. I suppose the only thing we can now hope for is that the bodies are recovered quickly that there can be closure through the memorial services and that those who suffered and died so unnecessarily can at last rest in peace.