Judge to lead Pike River mine tragedy inquiry named

Prime Minister John Key with Pike River CEO Peter Whittall. Photo / Mark Mitchell

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The Royal Commission into the Pike River mine tragedy will be headed by High Court Judge Graham Panckhurst, and two other commissioners with relevant expertise in mining and safety will be appointed later.

Justice Panckhurst became Crown Solicitor in 1985, covering Canterbury and the West Coast and in 1992 became a barrister sole.

He is based at the Christchurch High Court and has been a High Court judge since 1996.

The terms of reference are still being finalised, but the inquiry is expected to cost millions of dollars.

The draft terms of reference are broad and will scrutinise the rescue effort, as well as the safety practices at the mine.

It will take as long as needed, which could be several months.

Cabinet approved the inquiry today, and Prime Minister John Key announced it this afternoon.

A National Remembrance Service will be held in Greymouth on Thursday.

"It is important that we take every step we can to get the answers that these people and all New Zealanders need about what happened at Pike River," Mr Key said.

Explosions killed 29 workers at the Pike River Coal mine, the first of which was just over a week ago.

Although commissions of inquiry are usually used for disasters, Mr Key said a royal commission showed how seriously the government took the issue.

It will look at the causes of the explosion, whose responsibility it was, whether it could have been avoided and the initial response by rescuers.

It will likely investigate the level of methane gas at the time of the incident, and if the mine's gas-detection systems were adequate and being monitored properly, as well as any issues that could affect the wider mining industry.

Mr Key said the terms of reference would be finalised in consultation with Justice Panckhurst.

The inquiry is expected to also look at the legislative framework for mining and mining health and safety, including comparisons with standards in other countries.

It will spend a significant time on the west coast, including holding meetings there.

One of the other commissioners would be an international mining expert. The other would be a layperson, Mr Key said.

He said he did not expect a union representative to be one of the commissioners, as it could be seen as favouring the unions.

Royal commissions are seen as being the highest status of inquiry, although there are no differences in the powers held by the two types of inquiry. It is seen as independent and credible, though costly and time-consuming.

Under the rules for commissions of inquiry, the commission itself may summon witnesses, and must also hear from people with an interest in the inquiry who request to be heard.

The miners' union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), had also asked for a royal commission.

As well as a coronial inquiry, the Department of Labour, police and Pike River all had inquiries in progress.

Mr Key has said it was possible legal action would follow from those inquiries, such as police laying charges.

He did not expect the mine to reopen until the reasons for the disaster were known, but he did not expect other underground coal mines to stop operating.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little said the union requested a royal commission because of the higher status it was considered to have.

Mr Little said the union would appear before the commission, and expected to call its own expert evidence.

It was setting up a full legal team for the inquiry and he expected the union to represent the interests of miners and their families, regardless of whether the miners were union members.

The union had asked for an expert in work rights and workplace health and safety to be the third commissioner.

The Department of Labour will also contract an international mining safety expert to conduct an interim safety audit of all underground coal mines in New Zealand as a matter of urgency.