New Zealand Prime Minister Says Mine Safety Regulations to Tighten

By Joel ScanlonJun 21 2011

New Zealand Prime Minister John Keys said in an interview with the Australian press that there were major changes to be made in mine safety regulations in New Zealand following the Pike River mine explosions.

The series of explosions in the West Coast mine were responsible for the death of 29 men in November 2010.

He admitted that the deficiencies in the Pike River coalmine safety regulations would have made the mine illegal in Australia. This is a big departure from his original statement given immediately after the explosions at the mine. At the time Australian mining experts had said that the Pike River mine did not have the safety equipment that was standard issue in Australia.

The mine had only one tunnel and no tube bundling system of gas measurement. This gave the miners trapped inside no warning about the gas build up and no second passage of escape when the explosions began on 19 November 2010.

Now Prime Minister Keys has said that the New Zealand mining safety laws would be changed as soon as the Royal Commission gives its report of the Pike River mine disaster. Of the 29 mine workers who died at the mine two were Australian.