We finally got around to watching, Pike River. It has a very strong female cast with Melanie Lynskey and Robyn Marshall (superb as always) as the leads, Lucy Lawless as Helen Kelly (😢), and even Jacinda Ardern makes a cameo in her role as leader of the Opposition! Lots of moody West Coast land- and sea-scapes. The film burns with a sense of injustice but also and the power of persistence and solidarity. A bit slow at times and the pacing didn't seem quite right at times, making the film seem longer than intended. Still, an essential film in the canon of Aotearoa filmography. Four out of five stars from me.

#PikeRiver

https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/pike-river-feature-2025

“That a government would let it happen again, despite the price our men and their families have paid and the fact that all of New Zealand has seen that cost, isn’t shameful. It’s sociopathic.”

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2603/S00152/government-bill-undoes-pike-river-legacy-pike-families.htm

#nzpol #PikeRiver #HealthAndSafety #onetermgovt #DitchThepricksIn26 #Enrol #Vote

"...the government said it was intended to reduce death and injury rates while also cutting compliance costs..."

Do not forget this on November 7 DO NOT FORGET

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/590609/pike-river-mine-victims-families-fear-proposed-health-and-safety-law-changes-risk-another-tragedy
#Nzpol #WorkAndSafety #PikeRiver #Enrol #Vote #EnrolAndVote

This was written in 2017. 8 years on and nothing has changed.

"It’s infuriating because it’s so simple. When a mine explodes, you go in to find out why. When a crime happens, you investigate the crime scene. When 29 men die in a New Zealand workplace, someone has to be held accountable. It’s the only right and proper thing to do. But it hasn’t been done."

#NZPol #PikeRiver #WorkSafe #Aotearoa

https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/01-05-2017/enough-bullshit-after-all-these-years-the-pike-river-families-deserve-answers