Paul Little: Leave the miners where they lie
Pike River miners would not be alone in having their remains stay where they are. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The bodies of the Pike River miners should be left where they are; in a tomb that does honour to their lives. There could be no more fitting memorial.
The recovery plan announced this week seems driven by a misplaced desire to do something positive, to conclude a story that so far has been one of disappointment and failure at every turn. But it is the wrong move.
We know a funeral is not for the person in the casket. It is for those standing around it.
And it is terrible not to have a body to mourn but not uncommon. The battlefields of Europe, the oceans and even the centre of Christchurch contain the remains of many Kiwis who had to rest where they perished. Those left behind grieve in a different way but they can grieve and do it well.
The Prime Minister, among others, has said cost will not be an issue. Certainly, money should be the least of our concerns in a time like this. But, equally certainly, the dead men would be better honoured if that money were put into the Pike River community to help keep it alive.
The miners' deaths remind us that in an age where most of us live and work in comfort, there are still people doing dirty and dangerous jobs. As a community we need to acknowledge that. One way to do so is by allowing men who lived, worked and died together to rest in peace together.
Facebook for under 13s
Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg's suggestion that children under 13 should be allowed to sign up to his social-networking site was met with cautious enthusiasm by local children's advocates. They acknowledged many in that age group had already signed up using fake details.
I hadn't caught up with the fact that "they're already doing it" is now a good reason for letting kids do anything.
Zuckerberg said, apparently with a straight face, that having a Facebook page was important for their education.
This is not about educating children, it's about making more money for Facebook. The website earns its revenue by collecting personal data and selling advertising. The 600 million current members are apparently not earning their keep.
Like most web-based billionaires, Zuckerberg hates competition, in this case existing social media sites for youngsters such as habbo.co.uk with 134 million users.
He's also vague on how his system of child safety checks will work. "Because of the restrictions we haven't even begun this learning process," he said. "If they're lifted then we'd start to learn what works."
In other words: "Open the floodgates and then I'll start looking for a mop."
Wellywood
The Wellywood sign has resource consent for five years. Its opponents must regret it is not planned for Auckland, where it would take longer than that just to get it built.
This is the only way we can determine if miners survived the original explosion. From there NZers will know for any future disaster if the call by rescue co-ordinators to wait rather than take advantage of the small window on offer was the correct one.
If we don't analyse the actions of rescue organisations for whatever reason, it will be impossible for them to make any improvements should it show a different response would have been better. On the other hand if they made the correct call and we don't know that, the clamour for a different approach and resultant scuttlebutt will continue and fester.
Organisations have to be open to monitoring & criticism, otherwise a slide into inefficiency and incompetence is certain.
Pike River is a disgusting, outrageous and appalling cover up which goes right to the top. John Key is ultimately responsible for mine safety in New Zealand because the Mines Safety Inspectorate was abandoned years ago, defaulting to the PM as the person ultimately responsible for ensuring mine safety.
Add that to ACC's own investments in Pike River and you have a massive conflict of interest.
THAT is what you should be reporting - not a thinly disguised attempt to help John Key out of the hole he has dug for himself with it by trying harder and harder to cover it up. If he has to keep digging, why doesn't he just get stuck in and help dig the miner's bodies out too?
If recovery is not feasible due to risk & scale of effort involved, the families need to come to terms with that with what grace they can. Society owes them best effort; it does not owe them the impossible.
The mine can be declared a tomb & respected as such. Issues would arise if the mine is ever reopened, but that is pie in the sky at the moment so is best dealt with when/if we get there.
Lastly, the lawyer representing the families need stop posturing for his own political ends, to instead give his clients some compassionate counseling.