Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has assured help is available for families affected by the Pike River mine disaster.As families and friends mourn the death of the 29 men following two explosions on the West Coast mine this week, questions are be
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has assured help is available for families affected by the Pike River mine disaster.
As families and friends mourn the death of the 29 men following two explosions on the West Coast mine this week, questions are being asked about what type of financial support will be available.
Pike River chief executive Peter Whittall has assured the remaining 70 mine workers their salary and wages will be paid at least until the new year.
For the families of the dead men, the Accident Compensations Corporation will make the "biggest payout in its history," Prime Minister John Key said.
He did not give figures, but said the amount would be "very significant ... the largest payout, as I understand it, that ACC will have made since its inception".
Ms Bennett said help was available through Work and Income for the miners who cannot work, and though the Government has not yet planned a relief package, it was a possibility.
"Ministers have met and will continue to meet to make sure that we are addressing what their current needs are and looking ahead to what those future needs might be."
"I think I would be too soon for us to be deciding what a package might look like when we are uncertain at this time to what the needs will be," she said.
The Pike River Coal company has set up a charitable trust to support the men's families and it has contributed $500,000, a figure matched by its cornerstone shareholder, New Zealand Oil&Gas.
