Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 19 November 2013. Volume:695;Page:14891. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Leader of the Opposition) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Acting Prime Minister): Yes.Hon David Cunliffe: Given that he told the House yesterday that he had no idea whether ACC or the New Zealand Superannuation Fund as shareholders of New Zealand Oil and Gas had voted against paying compensation to the Pike River families has he since bothered to check?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Yes I can confirm that as independent fund managers and as minority shareholders in New Zealand Oil and Gas ACC and the Superannuation Fund voted against that motion. That motion if carried would have seen New Zealand Oil and Gas a 29 percent shareholder in Pike River Coal pay out on behalf of the other 71 percent. Of course ACC and the Superannuation Fund are a small proportion of the 29 percent. However I am concerned to see reports that the Leader of the Opposition would instruct ACC and the Superannuation Fund in making investment decisions that are by statute independent. The Leader of the Opposition’s position is probably unlawful.Hon David Cunliffe: In light of that answer does the Acting Prime Minister believe that it is possible for the Government to recover any of the money from the corporate parents of Pike River Coal or is he just giving up on the miners’ families?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Certainly I am advised that there is no legal mechanism by which the Crown could pursue that company. No one has given up on the miners’ families. The advice I have seen is that families of the miners have been paid around $5 million by ACC and we would expect that the longer-term support for those families will amount to some $20 million.Hon David Cunliffe: Does he stand by Simon Bridges’ comment that Cabinet did not discuss the Government’s moral responsibility to the Pike River families; if so does he not think that they deserve better than that?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Yes I do support the Minister of Labour’s comments. The Government’s moral obligations are met through the statutory systems put in place to support these families. In this case that system has supported them to the extent of around $5 million so far and we would expect that the extent of just ACC support will amount to some $20 million for the families. As I said to the House yesterday the Crown needs to bear in mind in discussing how to deal with these families the fact that every day in New Zealand families experience tragedies they would rather avoid and they would have every right to expect equal treatment with the Pike River families.Hon David Cunliffe: Does he stand by the statement of the Hon Christopher Finlayson that “The Government is fully aware of its obligations to these families.” but did nothing on compensation; if so does that mean that the Government decided that it has no legal or moral obligations to pay compensation to those families?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I have answered those questions previously. The member is carrying on as if there has been no support for these families and that is simply incorrect. I will just reiterate the facts around ACC support according to my advice. About $5 million has been paid to these families through ACC on the same basis as any other family that suffers a workplace or accident death and we expect that the full support for these families will amount to around $20 million. Every other family in NewZealand that experiences a tragedy which may be less high profile and less politicised by the Opposition has a right to expect equal treatment to the Pike River families.Hon David Cunliffe: Why does the Acting Prime Minister think that putting the burden on an accident compensation corporation that actually voted against compensation going to the families is a sufficient answer when this is the only case where a Government department glossy has been found culpable when a Minister has resigned when 29 miners lie dead and still buried under the earth and that Government is walking away from its moral obligation to the families?Hon BILL ENGLISH: It does not matter how often the member says it he needs to understand that every New Zealand family who experiences a tragedy—and every day there are some—deserves equal treatment to the Pike River families. The Government has fully supported these families through the statutory processes it has committed millions of dollars to the recovery of the bodies it has met its moral obligation to take all the steps recommended by the Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy to ensure that these tragic events do not occur again. But finally the Government has to act on behalf of all New Zealanders. Every New Zealand family who suffers a tragedy deserves equal treatment. And I challenge the Leader of the Opposition to show me a family who has lost someone in a workplace tragedy who should be treated less carefully and less supportively than the Pike River families.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Acting Prime Minister agree with the founding shareholder of New Zealand Oil and Gas Gordon Clout that the company should “remove their blinkers man up face reality and demonstrate humility to financially support the hurting and grieving families.”; if so why will his Government not do the same?Hon BILL ENGLISH: As I have explained to the member and I will go through it again the families have had the benefit of $5 million of payments from ACC so far and they can expect a further $15 million of support. The Government has committed I think $10 million to the recovery of the bodies. We have met our moral obligations by implementing all of the royal commission recommendations to ensure that this does not happen again including a very considerable commitment of taxpayer resources to a new workplace safety agency. I reiterate my final point. The Leader of the Opposition needs to show us a New Zealand family who lost someone in a workplace accident that should get less than the Pike River families and I do not think he can.