Video - If there is a manned re-entry to Pike River mine it will be in the second half of next year, Pike River Minister Andrew Little says, and advice on it will be made publicly available.
Pike River Minister Andrew Little Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Fresh from a ceremony with families of the victims yesterday, Pike River Minister Andrew Little is set to present options for re-entering the mine's drift to Cabinet later this morning.
Mr Little spent yesterday's seventh anniversary of the disaster at the mine with the victims' families and presented them with keys to the gate leading up to the mine.
Watch Pike River Minister Andrew Little on Morning Report:
He told Morning Report manned re-entry could take place next year.
"If there is going to be a re-entry ... it'll be the back half of next year, and certainly we were saying at the anniversary yesterday that perhaps by this time next year we will have a different story to tell."
Until then there would be a process to go through to minimise risk. Mr Little said the previous government's stance that manned re-entry was impossible was not backed up by their risk assessment reports.
"The reports ... they say of course manned re-entry is possible, there are risks, and most of those risks can be managed.
"It's now a question about saying, 'well if there is a possibility ... then let's work towards that re-entry. We know there will be risks, let's get the technical advice and the expert advice, see what we can mitigate.
"And we'll get it peer reviewed, and I will have an adviser to me as minister, and when it gets to the point of making a decision then we will have good information."
He said the families of the victims had been kept at arm's length by the government until now.
"They have felt excluded, they felt as if their voices weren't being heard. I have made it a priority to involve them, get them around the table, not just with me but with the officials that will actually be doing the work."
"My commitment to them has been to involve them at every step of the way."
The families had been talking to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment officials about re-entry, Mr Little said, and would have access to officials at the new department overseeing the re-entry should Cabinet accepted the decision to create it.
"The families have said that one of the number one guiding principles that they want is safety.
"This is a whole project that will be one that they are intimately and integrally involved in, that's what the commitment is, that's what they need, and that's what they've been looking for. They know the dangers and the risks and they'll get access to all the reports."
Those reports would also be made publicly available, he said.
"The intention is to have a website where the advice that I get, and that the families get, will be publicly available on a website."
