21 Nov 2017

Pike families welcome new govt agency

From Morning Report, 6:09 am on 21 November 2017

The families of some of the Pike River miners are welcoming the creation of a new agency that will work towards a manned re-entry of the mine. Twenty nine men died when the mine exploded on the West Coast in November 2010. In January, the Labour-led Government will establish a Pike River Recovery Agency - Te Kahui Whakamana Rua Tekau ma Iwa. It will be charged with devising a plan for a manned re-entry of the mine's drift, to explore 400 metres of it which haven't been searched, and recover any bodies by March 2019. A spokesperson for the families Bernie Monk told our political reporter Benedict Collins it's a big step forward.