Pike inquiry's first phase begins

Evidence received so far by the Royal Commission into the Pike River Mine tragedy raised many issues and questions, counsel assisting the commission James Wilding said today.
The commission began its first of four phases today with an opening statement from Wilding, and, later, evidence from chief executive of Solid Energy Dr Don Elder.
The Greymouth courtroom was stretched to accommodate counsel, seven media personnel and public.
Commissioner Justice Graham Panckhurst (chairman), with David Henry (formerly commissioner of Inland Revenue and head of the Electoral Commission) and Stewart Bell (commissioner for Queensland Mine Safety and Health) were addressed by counsel assisting James Wilding on the broad aspects of the inquiry.
The counsel assisting role is to represent the public and guide the commission where required to acquire all the information it needs. Under its terms of reference the commission is seeking to establish what happened at the Pike River mine and why, and to identify what can be done to avoid future tragedies.
The commission’s method was to invite participants to file evidence by a defined date and then having scrutinised and evaluated some 20,000 pieces of evidence, to identify key matters about which to hear further evidence.
Some people were then asked to supply evidence, some were compelled to and information was also collected by interview and investigations.
"Although the men who died in the Pike River Coal mine are not the direct focus of this phase of the inquiry, they are the reason why we are here," he said.
Mr Wilding outlined some of the evidence received to give an indication of the variety of submissions, from historical data, geological concerns, contractors’ views, and safety issues which had been received.
Phase one, the contextual phase, comprises the New Zealand regulatory environment, the interaction of mining law and other law in New Zealand, the resourcing and implementation of mining law in New Zealand and the geography, conception, approval, design and development in the mine.
To date the commission has been gathering evidence from a range of places and sources and only some of the evidence filed with the commission is being subjected to further scrutiny at the public hearing.
The commission produced five background chronology documents last week ahead of the context phase of the inquiry, including a New Zealand mining and coal production profile; permits, access arrangements and resource consents; the financial aspects; the company’s board management and workforce; and the mine’s development.
The chronologies did not fully reflect Pike’s hopes and efforts to establish an efficient and conservation conscious mine, Mr Wilding said, and evidence received so far had not answered many questions.
Priority for the public seats was given to family members, with additional space outside the courtroom for more media and members of the public.
In a pre-hearing briefing, Judge Pankhurst issued a plea to media to treat family members with dignity and respect their privacy. Twelve witnesses including experts, representatives of government departments, mining companies and the regional council will appear before the commission over the next two weeks.

Dr Elder was scheduled to appear this afternoon after he earlier told the commission that factors at the Pike mine had "significant potential to be at the root cause of generating a wide range of safety risks".