Worksafe accepts Supreme Court ruling on Pike prosecution

Worksafe says it fully accepts the Supreme Court's ruling that a decision not to prosecute the boss of the Pike River coal mine was unlawful. Sonja Rockhouse and Anna Osborne, who lost relatives in the disaster that killed 29 men, argued Peter Whittall should not have been able to pay more than $3 million to the victims' families in return for a prosecution being dropped. Worksafe's chief executive, Nicole Rosie, told our reporter Ruth Hill the deal with Mr Whittall was reached with her organisation's predecessor, the old Labour Department.