Pledge to re-enter Pike mine

Jacinda Ardern says a Labour government would re-enter the Pike River mine.

The leaders of Labour, UnitedFuture, the Maori Party and Green Party signed a commitment in Wellington yesterday to re-enter the West Coast mine, where 29 men died in 2010.

Ardern said Labour would also create a minister responsible for Pike River re-entry.

‘‘The Pike River disaster was unacceptable. Twenty-nine people shouldn’t die at work in New Zealand, nor should even one person lose their life while earning a living,’’ Ardern said.

‘‘It’s unacceptable that the families don’t have answers seven years later. More and more footage is coming out suggesting that we haven’t been told the full story.

‘‘Re-entering the drift will mean we can recover some of the men, and evidence of the cause of the explosions. That will help deliver justice and answers, and bring the men home to their families.’’

Families of the Pike River victims said they were ‘‘over the moon’’ with the cross-party agreement for an agency to take ownership of the mine and reclaim the drift to recover remains and evidence.

Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton died in the disaster, said it was an enormous step towards getting the men’s bodies out and coming to terms with what had happened. ‘‘We are so incredibly thankful ... their commitment shows that we can get justice.’’

Bernie Monk, who lost his son Michael in the mine, said the commitment marked a long fight for truth.

‘‘With this historic commitment, the job of getting into the drift, recovering our boys and finding evidence of what happened all those years ago is closer than it has ever been,’’ he said.