There has been a lot of western angst shown towards China this year, only a miniscule amount of which can be attributed to geopolitical threats coming from China. Leading the charge of the anti-China brigade is Australia. I commented about a month ago .
The political establishment, media and unions are nervous about the growing opposition to the Labour Party-led government’s attempt to shut down the investigation of the 2010 Pike River mine disaster, which killed 29 men.
ABSTRACT: The Pike River mine exploded on the 19 November 2010. Thirty-one (31) men were working underground at the time of the explosion and only two men were able to escape. The Pike River Recovery Agency was established in January 2018 to conduct a safe manned re-entry and recovery of the Pike River mine drift to gather evidence to better understand what happened in 2010.
SCT Operations Pty Ltd (SCT) have been engaged to assist with the management of strata control hazards as part of the planning and implementation phases of the drift recovery. Initial geotechnical assessments comprised review of available historical geological and geotechnical information to develop a geotechnical baseline report and hazard map to assist with future planning and risk management. A range of controls have been implemented to manage geotechnical risk to acceptable levels and to ensure that adequate levels of inspection, mapping, monitoring, assessment, and review are maintained at all stages of drift
The minister says the plan underestimates the time and costs involved in recovering the mine's main ventilation fan, which would add up to $25m to the project's budget.
One reader’s letter says: “29 men went to work and never came home. They worked in a dangerous workplace. That was known by those at the top, and they got away with it.”