NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Markets / Commodities

Pike River boss criticises police

Herald online
23 Sep, 2011 01:25 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Pike River CEO Peter Whittall. Photo / The Press

Pike River CEO Peter Whittall. Photo / The Press

Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall has accused police and other officials of withholding information about a fire burning inside his company's explosion-hit West Coast coal mine.

Not knowing about the fire contributed to his optimistic statements to families on the chances there were survivors inside the mine, he claimed.

Mr Whittall is giving evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the loss of 29 of his workers in the Pike River mine disaster.

Under questioning from counsel for the Pike River families Nicholas Davidson, he conceded there was only ever a faint hope the trapped men were alive.

To survive, the men would have had to have walked to the upper reaches of the explosion-hit mine before constructing a brattice shield and sucking air from a compressed airline, he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Davidson said that "just doesn't add up" and was an extremely faint possibility.

Though Mr Whittall agreed it was a slim hope, he denied deliberately giving false hope to families.

"Human beings are marvelous creatures aren't we and this does happen on occasion, albeit slim hope."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Whittall said his statements were partly shaped by the "embarrassing and downright extraordinary" fact he did not hear about a fire inside the Pike River mine until the inquiry.

He said police had access to reports from former mine inspector Robin Hughes which said there was a fire in the mine, but did not pass that information to him.

Not having those reports helped shape his optimistic messages to families about the possibility groups of miners were clustered around a fresh air line.

"When I stood up there and said this is the truth, it was certainly the truth as I knew it," he said.

Discover more

New Zealand

Pike River manager criticised planned escape exit

07 Sep 06:52 AM
Commodities

Pike River bosses accused of failing to plan for explosion

08 Sep 01:24 AM
New Zealand

Pike River manager did not know son was missing

08 Sep 04:37 AM
Banking and finance

Early payout plan for Pike contractors hatched

12 Sep 01:00 AM

Mr Whittall said at one point, Prime Minister John Key advised him to stop talking about "heating" inside the mine and start talking about fire.

He was surprised at that, as he had no information about fire in the mine.

His role communicating with families meant he should have been as well briefed as police superintendent and incident controller Gary Knowles, he said.

"It's starkly apparent that I was not so briefed.

"As I said before quite embarassing and downright extraordinary that it never got to me. I have no idea why that was not raised... It was extraordinary that I should learn about it at this commission and at no time before that."

Mine boss breaks down

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Earlier, Mr Whittall broke down while telling families of his immense regret at the way he told them their loved ones were dead.

But he rejected allegations he lied or gave families of false hope after an explosion in his company's West Coast mine on November 19.

He repeatedly paused to clear tears as he recounted a disastrous meeting where families were told of the deaths of their loved ones in a massive second explosion on November 24.

Many family members cheered and clapped when Mr Whittall started the meeting with earlier news of rescue teams kitting up to go into the mine.

The room had to be quieted before he announced all the men were dead.

Under questioning from Pike River Coal counsel Stacey Shortall, he said he had regretted the way he broke the news every day since the second explosion.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Getting to the meeting and seeing families milling around was very difficult, Mr Whittall said.

"Because I knew. Because I knew the second explosion had occurred and I knew they didn't know."

He was extremely upset at the time and struggled to find the best way to relay the news.
"I felt nauseous. I felt sick. I didn't know what to say. I felt a bit overwhelmed and intimidated."

Mr Davidson said the way Mr Whittall had broken the news of the deaths to families had left many of them with a scar that had not healed.

He said it was "the most insensitive thing that could be done to them."

Seven family members of some of the 29 men who died yesterday accused Mr Whittall and police of giving them false hope and withholding information in the wake of the first blast.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Whittall told the inquiry reading those statements was devastating.

He had only been able to read one or two a week because of the emotional toll they had taken, he said.

"If anyone had their tragic suffering made worse by thinking I gave false hope... then I'm sorry they felt that.

"I've gone over it in my brain for 10 months. Every day and every night... There was an opportunity I believe for some men to have survived."

"My only regret is that anyone could at any stage believe that I had anything other than the best intentions to tell the truth at all stages."

He said the hopeful message he conveyed to families was honest.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Miners are resourceful guys. They're tough and they're strong and they're hardy. I strongly believed that if anyone could have survived, they would have."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Commodities

Premium
Energy

NZ's power system well-placed for winter - analyst

08 Jun 11:00 PM
Premium
Agribusiness

Dairy prices end NZ season on a flat note, will they stay high in 2026?

20 May 11:58 PM
Premium
Shares

Gold hits $3500 as stocks rebound amid trade war fears

22 Apr 07:13 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Commodities

Premium
NZ's power system well-placed for winter - analyst

NZ's power system well-placed for winter - analyst

08 Jun 11:00 PM

Lake levels are close to average, easing fears of a power shortage.

Premium
Dairy prices end NZ season on a flat note, will they stay high in 2026?

Dairy prices end NZ season on a flat note, will they stay high in 2026?

20 May 11:58 PM
Premium
Gold hits $3500 as stocks rebound amid trade war fears

Gold hits $3500 as stocks rebound amid trade war fears

22 Apr 07:13 PM
Premium
Chicken exports normalising after flu outbreak – MPI

Chicken exports normalising after flu outbreak – MPI

20 Apr 07:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP