Probe into ‘unlawful’ Pike River deal

The Law Society is considering an investigation into the controversial deal done with former Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall over the 2010 mine disaster.

Just days after the 10th anniversary of the Pike River disaster, where 29 men lost their lives on November 19, 2010, the long-running saga has taken a new turn.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, WorkSafe put together a case that would have brought 12 charges against then-mine boss Whittall.

But there was stunned anger in December 2013 when all 12 health and safety charges were dropped after he and Pike River Coal offered a voluntary payment of $3.41 million, seeing $110,000 given to each of the families and two survivors.

The Crown said after an extensive review that it was “not appropriate to continue with the prosecution against Mr Whittall”.

Afterwards, the outraged families slammed the move as “blood money”.

In November 2017, the Supreme Court ruled the decision not to lay any charges against Whittall was unlawful.

Yesterday, on the third anniversary of that landmark decision, the Law Society confirmed in a letter to Christopher Harder, who lodged a formal complaint last month, [it] is being referred to a Standards Committee “for consideration of commencing an investigation of its own motion”.

The complaint, viewed by the Herald, claims Whittall’s lawyer Stuart Grieve QC and then-Crown solicitor for Christchurch Brent Stanaway brought the legal profession into disrepute by entering into an “unlawful agreement to pay money for the dropping of all charges” and “stifling a prosecution by deliberately misleading and deceiving the sentencing judge [Judge Jane Farish]”.

A Law Society spokeswoman yesterday told the Herald they were prevented by law on commenting on whether they had received a complaint or “any details of concerns raised with us”.

All complaints must be first considered by Standards Committees, which are comprised of lawyers and lay people, the spokeswoman said.