Corporate greed drove New Zealand Oil and Gas shareholders to vote against paying $NZ3.4 million ($A2.99 million) reparation to the families of the Pike River mine disaster victims, a Labour MP says.
"New Zealanders will be appalled by the latest insult dished out to 29 grieving families," said West Coast Tasman MP Damien O'Connor on Thursday.
"There has been a complete absence of corporate accountability in this sorry disaster - this is another example of a growing culture of corporate greed across New Zealand."
NZ Oil and Gas was the major shareholder in Pike River Coal, the company that owned the mine when explosions killed 29 men in November 2010.
In July, Judge Jane Farish ordered Pike River Coal to compensate the families of the victims, and two survivors, $NZ110,000 ($A96,840) each.
She also fined the company, which is in receivership, $NZ760,000. ($A669,072)
The receivers said it didn't have the money to pay the fine.
On Tuesday NZ Oil and Gas held its annual meeting and shareholders declined a motion that it should investigate and report on whether it should pay the reparations ordered by the judge.
Its shareholders overwhelmingly rejected the motion with almost 135 million votes against it and just 260,000 supporting it.
"I'm shocked but not surprised that 99 per cent of the shareholders voted not to investigate paying the families of the victims," O'Connor said.
"Children have lost fathers, wives have lost husbands, families have lost loved ones and yet the corporate owner and manager of the mine is refusing to acknowledge that loss."
The company has already contributed $NZ25 million ($A22.01 million) to the cost of the receivership and has given $NZ1 million ($A880,360) to two trusts set up for the victims' families.
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