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Sunday is a day for catching up with 'other' news.
Video released of New Zealand SAS raid on Afghanistan village in 2010
28
June, 2019
Investigative
journalist Nicky Hager has obtained and released videos from the
Operation Burnham raid in Afghanistan in 2010.
The
footage was taken from an American aircraft and released to Mr Hager
after a request to American authorities, through a lawyer in
Washington DC.
The
videos show people on the ground of Khak Khuday Dad village who
appear to be carrying weapons and helicopters firing upon some
individuals, leaving them dead or wounded.
In
a briefing to media, Nicky Hager said there has always been a big
question since the book Hit & Run came out about what was on the
"secret videos". He says the videos do not show what the
Defence Force has said they show.
Insurgents may have been present during the NZ SAS raid in Afghanistan in 2010 in which civilians died. Source: 1 NEWS
While
media were shown extended portions of the videos, only some have been
made available for the public.
"The
idea is to stop more sensational pictures of people being killed
going on the internet. We want to be upfront about what's available
but not get that stuff into the public realm," Mr Hagar said.
Mr
Hager and fellow journalist Jon Stevenson wrote the book Hit &
Run outlining Operation Burnham and New Zealand's part in it. Last
week Mr Stevenson walked back a key claim of the book revealing he
has since spoken to Afghan insurgents who admitted to being in the
area of the second village during the raid.
The
videos were amongst a trove of documents held by American authorities
not publicly available until now.
The
Operation Burnham raid is at the centre of a $7 million Government
inquiry underway at the moment, looking to uncover the truth over the
alleged killing of six civillians and the injuring of 15 others.
Pike River advocates have 'black box' data police say was never saved
26
June, 2019
Advocates
for the Pike River mine victims say they have crucial data from the
mine's "black box" which police are only now admitting they
have.
Dean
Dunbar and Bernie Monk, who both lost sons in the 2010 explosion that
killed 29 men, are calling for an independent inquiry after police
denials that data still existed beyond the first mine explosion on
November 19 that year.
The
encrypted SCADA data is an electronic record of everything happening
at the mine, with video footage, measurements of gas levels and
electrical activity, and records of phone calls.
IAIN MCGREGOR/FAIRFAX NZ
Flames burn from a ventilation shaft above the Pike River mine after the November 2010 explosionthat killed 29 men.
Two
miners walked out after the first blast, but there was a second
explosion five days later. Dunbar and Monk believe the data could
hold crucial information about the cause of the second
explosion, which effectively ended all rescue hopes.
READ
MORE:
* Pike River re-entry finally a reality after eight-year battle
* Pike River mine re-entry: A momentous day captured in pictures
* New date for Pike River mine drift reopening after failed attempt
* The promise to Pike River miners: 'We will not rest and we will never give up. We will return
In
a statement on Wednesday evening, Dunbar and Monk said they first
asked for the SCADA data on November 15 last year. On March 11 this
year, police said it did not exist beyond November 19,
2010.
MAARTEN HOLL/STUFF
Bernie Monk says he has about 80 per cent of the mine's SCADA data and is keen to compare it with what police say they have.
They
said Pike River Recovery Agency chief executive Dave Gawn informed
them the agency had the data from November 3 to 24, 2010 and that he
understood police had "considerably more".
"If
it wasn't for the honesty of Dave Gawn, I don't believe police would
have admitted SCADA existed past the 19th," Dunbar said.
Police
had since said they had three months of data up to December 2.
PIKE RIVER RECOVERY AGENCY
The Pike River mine was reopened for the first time on May 21, 2019.
On
Wednesday, Monk told Stuff police
had then said they could not access that data because "the
employee who set it up no longer works for the police".
However,
when he and Dunbar informed police about 5pm on Wednesday
that Newshub would
be running a story an hour later on their SCADA-data findings, police
then said they were now analysing the data for the period between the
two explosions.
"We
have got some of that data," Monk told Stuff.
"We have probably got about 80 per cent of it – [we] just need
a wee bit more now.
SUPPLIED
Pike River Mine drift when the mine was first re-entered on May 21, 2019.
"We
will find out what they have got. We have nothing to hide."
Monk hoped
police were going to be "straightforward and honest" with
the data, so to the two parties could compare their information.
A
police spokeswoman said while the investigation was continuing
"we are not in a position to discuss the data further".
"Police
[have] also identified SCADA data from the time after the first
explosion, outside of the scope of the investigation. This data is in
the process of being extracted and examined, which is a complex and
highly technical exercise that we are working our way through with
care," she said.
"This
data will be made available to those who have requested it once this
process is complete."
Monk
and Dunbar had no faith in the new investigation team, "which
unfortunately includes members of the original investigation team".
"We
have been seeking information from them for over two years and they
have consistently delayed and denied evidence exists," Monk
said.
"We
have sadly come to the conclusion the only way the truth will ever be
told is with the input of our experts, who we completely trust."
This is an excellent backgrounder of what went down at Pike River beyond the headlines - from about a year ago.
