The Pike River mine. File photo. Photo: Supplied / Pike River Recovery Agency
WorkSafe will not appeal the High Court's ruling to allow families of Pike River victims to see documents relating to the decision to drop charges against the mine's former chief executive.
Peter Whittall had faced 12 charges against over alleged health and safety breaches in the lead-up to the explosion, which the health and safety regulator later withdrew.
Whittall, along with other directors and officers of Pike River Coal, then made a voluntary compensation payment of $3.4 million to the families.
The High Court on Friday ruled the families may now see the material leading to that decision.
They are trying to clarify when the full file will be released.
The judgment said it was important there was transparency, and not false speculation and misunderstanding.
In a statement, WorkSafe said its position was based on the principle of maintaining privilege rather than any specific concern about the content of the documents.
"WorkSafe refers to the view stated by Justice Mallon that the documents raise no new or independent issues," the statement said.
It also referred to Justice Mallon's ruling that "the law is not clear whether the privilege ends with the resolution of charges or whether 'once privileged, always privileged' is the correct approach. I adopt the latter approach, as that preserves the privilege in situations where it may be appropriate to do so beyond the case in which the discussions occurred."
