Pike River Miners get ZIP...

Ideal chap to run a coal mine, or country, or a money laundering business.

I’ve never heard such a bunch of sanctimonious claptrap as I heard tonight…

in our very own parliament debating chamber when a bunch of National Party backbencher hacks pretended to care about the dead miners of Pike River.

As they were doing so, their esteemed leader was singing songs with a bunch school kids and then taking off for a few meals and wine with a murdering dictator who is hosting the Commonwealth Leaders Conference. 

And Key cares stuff all about the miners families and who proved how shallow his caring goes just the day before this sham debate.

This same rat-bag John Key who only the day before had told the Pike River miners families that the Government will offer them ‘zip’ as compensation for the massive failure of the Labour Department in ensuring health and safety was being carried out at the jerry built mine.

During the debate the Nats put up back bench idiots like Cam Calder, Mark Mitchell, Mike Sabin, have you ever heard of that bunch, 

I was really surprised that Ian McKelvie was not amongst them, being Nationals most wealthy farmer, Landlord, and Palmerston North Business owner whose only role in Parliament is to ask patsy questions and shout John Key Gin and tonics…but obviously he was up in Taupo checking out his summer house.

The fact is the government was praising itself on tightening up the Health and Safety laws relating to mining. They’ve made some startling changes, for example they’ve increased the number of mining inspectors from two…now wait for it…to three! And they are even planning to make one of them…the boss. 

Here is what David Cunliffe had to say about the PM hands off attitude…would you want the PM as your kindly rich uncle?

David CUNLIFFE

“It is morally repugnant that the Government has chosen to walk away from its responsibility to compensate the families of the men killed at Pike River, says Labour Leader David Cunliffe.

“In deciding not to pay those families a cent John Key and his Cabinet colleagues are cheating them of their legitimate court-ordered compensation.

“Mr Key says he has ‘great sympathy’ for the families. That sympathy, however, comes with a ‘but’.

“It shouldn’t and he knows it.

“A report into the mine explosion found systemic failures by several government departments contributed to the deaths of the 29 miners.

“Two of the shareholders in Pike River Coal were also Crown agencies – ACC and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

“There is nothing stopping the Prime Minister making a couple of quick phone calls to the Chairs of those boards and setting expectations about a pay-out in some shape or form.

“He should also be calling other significant shareholders and telling them in no uncertain terms to fulfill their moral obligations.

“If Mr Key can’t organise his Government to honour the lives of the dead miners then he does not deserve to be Prime Minister,” David Cunliffe said.