Bernie Monk says lawyers have hidden behind legal privilege to avoid answering important questions. Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
Families of those who died in the coal-mine explosions in 2010, will soon be able to see the documents that led to health-and-safety charges against the mine's chief executive being dropped.
Peter Whittall. Photo: RNZ/ Logan Church
TVNZ reported last night that the High Court has ruled that the families of the 29 men who died in the explosion may now see the privileged material that led to those charges against the mine's former chief executive, Peter Whittall, being dropped.
The 12 charges related to alleged health and safety breaches in the lead-up to the explosion.
Whittall, along with other directors and officers of Pike River Coal, then made a voluntary compensation payment of $3.4 million to the families.
RNZ has seen the Wellington High Court judgment - now the families are trying to clarify when exactly the full file will be released.
Bernie Monk, whose son Michael died in the mine, told First Up lawyers underestimated the willingness of the families to challenge them.
Monk accused them of hiding behind legal privilege to not answer questions.
He said the lawyers' actions had affected any moves to recover the victims' bodies, causing huge pain for the families.
"It's unforgivable what they've done to the families and the hurt and the continuation of hiding behind these things has been a dagger in the heart to a lot of the families."
Asked how the families would get to see the legal documents, Monk said they would be invited to Wellington to hear an account of what was contained in them.
He said it was important the families continued to fight to prevent a repetition should another major tragedy of its type occur.
"This has been a landmark thing for the justice system here for the people of New Zealand."
Relatives look at a compilation of photos of the 29 men who died. (File pic) Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Decision a rarity - former ombudsman
A former ombudsman says the High Court ruling case may set a precedent.
Leo Donnelly, who has been informally advising the families for the legal action to discover how the decision to drop charges against Whittall was made, said the starting point for the case was when the Supreme Court in 2017 found that the decision was unlawful.
"Being able to access information to actually track back as to what was actually said by the parties, what was put forward, that ended up in that unlawful action taking place.
"The only way of getting that is to have transparency."
Donnelly said the applicants in the case have been granted access to High Court documents, audio, and transcripts.
He told Midday Report it was an important step.
"Up until now the balance has probably always been tipped in favour of legal professional privilege prevailing and people not being able to access information.
"This judgment has actually tipped the balance the other way because it's opened up the argument that confidence in the administration of justice means that you should have disclosure not just to show something wrong happened, but also that you should have disclosure so that people can be confident to see that nothing untoward happened also, which is a much wider argument."
Having access to the file could affect the families other requests for access to information that had been refused on the basis of legal professional privilege.
It could allow further submissions to be made on the basis that, in the interests of transparency, fuller disclosure should be allowed than has been provided in the six years since the Supreme Court ruling.
Donnelly said the ruling in favour of transparency was a rarity.