Pike River : The Crime and Cover Up

On November 19, 2010, an explosion rocked the underground Pike River mine in New Zealand. After a second explosion five days later, the 29 workers underground were declared dead. This was not a random accident: it was a crime caused by capitalism. Despite overwhelming evidence that Pike River Coals management cut costs and endangered workers lives, no one has been held accountable for the actions that turned the mine into a death trap.

Pike River: The Crime and Cover-up, published in 2022, is a contribution to the ongoing fight to uncover the full truth of what happened, and to draw the political lessons of the tragedy for the working class. It contains articles and analysis from the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), examining how National and Labour Party governments, their allies, the trade unions, the judicial system and regulators have protected the company and sought to shut down the investigation into the disaster.