Peter Whittall discharged on Pike River charges

Charges against Pike River mine boss Peter James Whittall have been dropped, with the prosecution citing difficulties bringing the case to trial.

Families of the 29 victims and the two men who escaped the blasts in the West Coast mine on November 19, 2010, will receive a $110,000 share of a payment of $3.41 million, paid by the directors and officers of the mine.

Mr Whittall has also said he wishes to meet the families to express his personal empathy and condolences and he will ask company directors to attend the meeting.

Christchurch District Court Judge Jane Farish ended the prosecution today at the request of the Ministry.

Mr Whittall was not at the Christchurch Court House for the hearing. The charges carried only monetary penalties, so he was not required to be present. He now lives in Wellington.

Prosecutor Mark Zarifeh said the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment had now carried out an extensive review of the charges.

He said Whittall was mainly charged as a party to principal offending by Pike River Coal Ltd, with the Ministry alleging that as an officer, he acquiesced or participated in failures by PRCL.

PRCL was convicted earlier on the primary charges, by formal proof without the company taking any part in the proceedings.

On July 5, the company was fined $760,000, the most substantial fines ever imposed under the Health and Safety in Employment Act.

Reparation totalling $3,410,000 was ordered for the 29 men killed and the two who escaped the explosions on November 19, 2010.

Mr Zarifeh said: “It seems likely that neither the fines nor the reparation will be paid by PRCL, which is in receivership.”

He cited difficulties in bringing a case where 14 prosecution witnesses were in Australia and unavailable, and others were reluctant witnesses. It was likely that briefs of evidence would not be admitted as hearsay evidence. The court would have to hear a contest between expert witnesses where the prosecution would have to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.

The prosecution would mean a 16 to 20-week hearing in Wellington, for which the cost would be high.

The Ministry had decided, on a principled and conventional basis, that it was not appropriate to continue with the prosecution. It had decided that it would offer no evidence and invited the court to discharge him on all charges.

The former Labour Department, now part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, alleged he failed to protect workers from harm relating to methane, strata and ventilation management, and mitigating explosion risk and impact. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of $250,000.

He had pleaded not guilty, and has succeeded with an application for the trial to be transferred to Wellington from the West Coast.

Defence counsel Stuart Grieve, QC, said Mr Whittall had always maintained his innocence of the 12 Health and Safety in Employment charges. He said Mr Whittall supported the decision not to proceed with the prosecution.

Mr Grieve cited difficulties with the investigation and the collection of data by the Ministry, which did not copy data off many computer and electronic storage devices.

He said it was not apparent from the briefs of evidence or the documents disclosed how the Ministry would have intended to establish Mr Whittall’s alleged acquiescence or participation in the various failings alleged.

He said a bank cheque for the full amount had been provided to the court registrar and he asked Judge Farish to make any orders within her power to ensure it was distributed as soon as possible to the families and the other two men – “Hopefully before Christmas.”

Judge Farish said that out of 91 prosecution briefs of evidence, 31 were unsigned and were not admissible as evidence. Mr Whittall had been charged as a party and the prosecution was always going to be very difficult. The likelihood of a successful prosecution was extremely low, she said.

After she made the reparation order early this year, there had been an indication from a director that a voluntary payment might have been possible, partially using some insurance money. It was not possible to make that payment while prosecutions were before the court.

She said: “Some of you will say and think and believe that this is Mr Whittall buying his way out of a prosecution. I can tell you that it’s not. The decision not to continue with the prosecution has been taken at a very high level and the voluntary payment is really a side issue in terms of that determination.”

“I see this as being a good outcome,” she said.

Many of the families, and members of the West Coast community were present in the court for the hearing. Some were in tears.

Outside the Court House, Bernie Monk, speaking for most of the families said the situation was frustrating and gutwrenching and the families would not be meeting Peter Whittall.

He accused Mr Whittall of walking away from a family meeting rather than talk to the families, and the families would not be “running to him when he snaps his fingers”.

Mr Monk lost his son Michael in the Pike River tragedy.

Another family member, Carol Rose, said it was now important to get into the mine to gather evidence in the hope that some criminal prosecution could eventually be brought. She said 29 men had died and nobody was being held accountable.

Category: News