3. Pike River Mine Disaster—Re-entry and Recovery OperationDENISE ROCHE (Green) to the Minister for the EnvironmentPike River Mine Disaster—Re-entry and Recovery Operation3. DENISE ROCHE (Green) to the Minister for the Environment: Is he satisfied that everything possible has been done to recover the bodies of the 29 men who were killed at the Pike River Mine six years ago?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): Yes.Denise Roche: Given that answer has advice from technical experts—including former chief mines inspector Tony Forster mine ventilation expert David Creedy and founding member of the Mines Rescue Trust Tony Wyatt—that was supplied to the Government by Pike River families been investigated fully?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There will always be a range of different technical opinions but the law that this Parliament passed set the responsibility for issues of health and safety in the workplace with the director and the chief executive of the company responsible—in that case it is Solid Energy. Over $5 million was spent on trying to find a safe way into the drift. Those legally responsible concluded it could not be done safely.Denise Roche: Why has the Minister told the families that the drift leading into the mine is to be sealed temporarily when it involves a 20 metre - thick wall and requires a hundred truckloads of concrete?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There has been extensive consultation with the Pike River Families Group on the design of the seal with the design being shared with them over the last 12 months and changes made to it as a consequence of family representations. The exact design if you wanted to know of the seal consists of a Type C seal which WorkSafe requires to be installed by the end of this month. That is about 600 millimetres thick of what is called Stopcrete. In addition to that there is an additional wall 30 metres further away which is built at the portal. That is then in-filled with softer material. It is our view that the design of the seal needs to be such that the site is safe so the area can be included in the Paparoa National Park and those who wish to acknowledge and visit the site can do so safely.Scott Simpson: What were the risks identified by the mining experts engaged to find a way into the drift that led to Solid Energy's decision that it could not be done safely?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Firstly the mine post-disaster is 98 percent methane and now has within it over 100000 cubic metres of explosive gas. Secondly the experts advised that there were still likely to be residual heat sources capable of triggering an explosion if oxygen was ever present. Thirdly the 2010 explosions in the mine would have fractured the strata in the mine and there was a high risk of further rockfalls. Finally they were concerned that the mine design was always fundamentally flawed in only having one means of egress which made entry so unsafe.Denise Roche: Does the Minister agree with Bernie Monk and Sonya Rockhouse both of whom lost children in the mine disaster that the mine is a crime scene and that all action possible needs to be taken to investigate that crime scene?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No I do not for this reason: we had a royal commission of inquiry into the Pike disaster. It did conclude that there were significant failings and it also concluded that no crime was committed.Denise Roche: Given the advice from other experts that it is safe to go into the drift—the drift not the mine—why will the Government not show some compassion by re-entering the drift and providing some sense of closure for the families of the Pike 29?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: If the Government believed there was a safe way of getting into the drift we would have done so. But the consistent expert advice is that it cannot be done safely. I had a phone call this morning from the previous chair of Solid Energy who received the very first reports on getting access to the drift and he again emphasised to me that the very early advice it received from day one was that it would be highly likely to be unsafe.Denise Roche: Why is the Government passing the buck to Solid Energy for this decision to seal the drift when it knows full well that it could re-enter the drift safely and investigate what went on there?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: If there is any lesson to learn from Pike it is that politicians should not be making decisions on safety. Furthermore the law that this Parliament—the law that this Parliament—passed put the responsibility for safety on the directors and chief executives of companies. The chief executive and company that is responsible for this site is Solid Energy and I would urge members' caution on trying to override those legal responsibilities when we are dealing with issues of safety because that actually is the most important lesson from Pike.