"And to all those who say we're not serious on this promise we say, our party will make re-entry into Pike River a bottom line at the next election.'' Mr Peters said re-entry need not wait until the election later this year and Prime Minister Bill English should "stop being weak'' and allow people to go into the drift. Mr Monk said a crowd of more than 100 gathered to hear from the New Zealand First leader. A former miner in Australia in the 1970s, Mr Peters has said he would be willing to be among the first to enter the drift. Pike River was the "most dangerous workplace in New Zealand'', he said, and approving a re-entry would go against the very health and safety laws passed in response to the disaster.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 15, 2017 20:12 UTC