But concerns remain that the charges may interfere with the ongoing Royal Commission into the disaster and that the terms of reference by the department were too narrow to address the underlying regulatory deficiencies in the country’s mining laws.
The charges were laid at the Greymouth District Court and each carries a maximum penalty of $NZ250,000.
“The department is unable to name those charged at this point as they either have existing name suppression orders in their favour, or have the right to apply for name suppression,” it said.
“Identifying the specific charges could also lead to identification of the three parties charged so the department is unable to specify the detail of the charges.
“Now that charges have been laid, a formal legal process is underway.”
The department’s investigative process, culminating in the laying of charges, has taken 357 days to complete. It has been the most complex investigation ever undertaken by the department.
At its peak, a team of 15 was directly involved in the investigation and more than 200 interviews were conducted.
The department also engaged acknowledged subject experts to assist the investigation.
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union represents coal miners in New Zealand and its national secretary Andrew Little said the police and Department of Labour inquiries into the disaster, even if they led to prosecutions, only looked at very narrow issues.
“They don’t get into the issues of what are the deeper problems in terms of the quality of regulation and the culture of management,” Little told ILN.
“From a union’s point of view, we are keen for a quick, thorough examination of the regulations that apply here and whether or not they are adequate.
“It’s pretty clear they are already of a lower standard compared to Queensland and New South Wales, and if we want to improve the quality of legislation we need the Royal Commission to be doing that exercise of comparing them and deciding whether we need to improve them.
“We don’t get that out of a criminal prosecution.”
With the commission’s hearings not over yet, Little feared a lack of participation from many parties because of possible self-incrimination.
“Whether or not they prosecute, there is not much the Royal Commission can get into in relation to issues of Pike River management and what happened on the day,” Little told ILN.
“Because no one wants to give evidence on those issues while there is a possibility of prosecution.
“It would mean that the Royal Commission would then have to basically be delayed until all the criminal prosecutions are dealt with.”
Little suspects that these delays could hold up the commission for two to three years.
“Memories will be dimmed, it will be harder to get an accurate picture about what exactly happened,” he said.
“But it would be another several years the underground mining industry in New Zealand will be working under regulations which, on the face of it and from experience, appear to be unsafe.”
He is concerned they could affect the commission’s ability to quickly come up with some findings, especially in relation to deeper causes of the disaster, such as the country’s underground coal mining regulations.
