Pike River fundraising ride

[PrincessBandit]

Did any kb'ers make the ride? Saw it on the news tonight - Christchurch to West Coast. Riders raised about $6,000 (blardy awesome!) and they want to make it an annual ride.

Looked like the weather was great for it and plenty of bikers enjoyed themselves.

[Katman]

Saw it on the news tonight

And the great thing is - so too did probably half a million others.

[taff1954]

Have to say it, hats off to them for a bloody fantastic effort. And, yes, pretty good publicity for bikers at the same time.

[Vgygrwr]

Definitely a few kiwibikers, lotsa Harleys. Very well organised I thought. Bit wet going over through Arthurs and far too bloody hot coming back through Canterbury to 37 degrees. A few pictures the last inlcudes the guy from Rolling Thunder leading a good team.

[easyrider]

nice to see. Alot better imo than the facebook memorial of 'lighting a candle'... the irony :S. I guess people like to do what they can.

[hellokitty]

That would have been an amazing ride to be part of :love:

[Vinz0r]

PLEASE don't rage at me for this, as I understand it's a rather touchy subject right now, but I have just been wondering what these Pike River fundraising drives are for. Is it to raise money for the affected families? Because with all the payouts that they receive from ACC and the mining company itself, they really won't be hurting financially.

[Yow Ling]

PLEASE don't rage at me for this, as I understand it's a rather touchy subject right now, but I have just been wondering what these Pike River fundraising drives are for. Is it to raise money for the affected families? Because with all the payouts that they receive from ACC and the mining company itself, they really won't be hurting financially.

Plus they already have 6 million in the kitty from other fundraisers. Normal people who get killed at work or on the roads dont get anything like this.

[hellokitty]

PLEASE don't rage at me for this, as I understand it's a rather touchy subject right now, but I have just been wondering what these Pike River fundraising drives are for. Is it to raise money for the affected families? Because with all the payouts that they receive from ACC and the mining company itself, they really won't be hurting financially.

ACC only pays 80% of your wage when you are injured.

I think the worry is that there are many families that have lost the financial provider - the husbands and fathers - and that now there is no one to financially support the mums and kids. The DPB only pays so much and I guess it is another blow to the grieving families that as well as losing their loved ones, they may lose their homes as they can't pay their mortgages or rent.

What a horrible situation it is, no matter what way you look at it.

[hellokitty]

Plus they already have 6 million in the kitty from other fundraisers. Normal people who get killed at work or on the roads dont get anything like this.

well woopty-doo for the money - I would still rather be me - struggling to make ends meet with an intact family, then be them grieving for a loved who died a horrific death and not even having a body to bury.

I am sure they would swap any amount of money to have their men back.

[Yow Ling]

ACC only pays 80% of your wage when you are injured.

I think the worry is that there are many families that have lost the financial provider - the husbands and fathers - and that now there is no one to financially support the mums and kids. The DPB only pays so much and I guess it is another blow to the grieving families that as well as losing their loved ones, they may lose their homes as they can't pay their mortgages or rent.

What a horrible situation it is, no matter what way you look at it.

Acc pays 80% of your wages for 5 years if you are killed at work, most of these guys were on $80k+ so thats $64k pa $320k total, plus there is a bit over 200k from the fundraising for each deceased miner (tax free I suppose) so nobody should lose their house probably be able to update actually.

Road accident victims get about $4k from acc. they are just as missed by their families

Dont let the facts get in the way of a good story

[Genie]

Acc pays 80% of your wages for 5 years if you are killed at work, most of these guys were on $80k+ so thats $64k pa $320k total, plus there is a bit over 200k from the fundraising for each deceased miner (tax free I suppose) so nobody should lose their house probably be able to update actually.

Road accident victims get about $4k from acc. they are just as missed by their families

Dont let the facts get in the way of a good story

they may get financial help but who's there now when a young fella needs his dad or that young woman who is about to give birth to her first child and her partner is gone. Or who is there to hold the bereaved wife/girlfriend in the middle of the night while she grieves for her beloved who will never come home.

Money means nothing....good men died yet life still goes on and somehow this community will carry on.

If the wider community wishes to donate money to help ease the stress now placed upon these families...well done!

[Vinz0r]

they may get financial help but who's there now when a young fella needs his dad or that young woman who is about to give birth to her first child and her partner is gone. Or who is there to hold the bereaved wife/girlfriend in the middle of the night while she grieves for her beloved who will never come home.

Money means nothing....good men died yet life still goes on and somehow this community will carry on.

If the wider community wishes to donate money to help ease the stress now placed upon these families...well done!


But I think the point that is being raised is that the money being raised to be donated is not needed, the families receive the payout from ACC and from the mining company, they are doing a lot better financially than most other New Zealand families.

[hellokitty]

Acc pays 80% of your wages for 5 years if you are killed at work, most of these guys were on $80k+ so thats $64k pa $320k total, plus there is a bit over 200k from the fundraising for each deceased miner (tax free I suppose) so nobody should lose their house probably be able to update actually.

Road accident victims get about $4k from acc. they are just as missed by their families

Dont let the facts get in the way of a good story

The facts are that these people are dead - no amount of money will change that.

Who the hell are you to tell me not to let the facts get in the way of a good story?

Am I spinning a story?

These people are dead - this is not a story - this is fact.
Yes it sucks that you die on the road and get $4k
Mouthing off on this forum board is changing this how?
Have a bit of consideration - I don't know anyone personally affected by this but I bet some people on this board do know someone.

[Genie]

But I think the point that is being raised is that the money being raised to be donated is not needed, the families receive the payout from ACC and from the mining company, they are doing a lot better financially than most other New Zealand families.

Who's to say it is not needed....little Jonny may only be 6 and has lost his dad but he may wish to grow up and be a geologist ..... the $20 bucks that someone donates now could well help him when he is 15....it's not always the 'now' that is important, sometimes the future needs to be thought about. Having mum go on the DPB in Greymouth, well, not much hope for employment down there, not only has the mine closed but IRD just layed off a few down there as well. Every cent that goes into Greymouth will help not only the families but also the community.

[Vinz0r]

Who's to say it is not needed....little Jonny may only be 6 and has lost his dad but he may wish to grow up and be a geologist ..... the $20 bucks that someone donates now could well help him when he is 15....it's not always the 'now' that is important, sometimes the future needs to be thought about. Having mum go on the DPB in Greymouth, well, not much hope for employment down there, not only has the mine closed but IRD just layed off a few down there as well. Every cent that goes into Greymouth will help not only the families but also the community.

I do see your point, but the payouts that have already been received by the families from the mining company and ACC should take any financial strain off of them for a long time.
As to your comment regarding Jonny wanting to be a geologist, that $20 could do a lot more good if given to any number of single mothers working their asses off to provide for their children because their husband was killed in a car crash but was not employed at the time so the mother received no compensation from ACC.

I'm going to stop posting here now as this is obviously a bit of a touchy subject to be discussing.

My heart goes out to all the families affected by the Pike River tragedy, R.I.P miners.

[MSTRS]

My heart goes out to all the families affected by the Pike River tragedy, R.I.P miners.

+1

But I also agree with the 'what are the collections for?' sentiments as well.
Sure, 29 guys died in a workplace accident. That is a tragedy, but no worse than 1 being killed in each of 29 totally unrelated workplaces all round the country.
There are all sorts of insurances available to provide for one's dependents, pay off mortgages, etc. If someone on $80K doesn't bother with taking out that sort of cover, then why should those of us earning much less bother? You'll all have a whip round for my mortgage/family if I'm killed at work. Right?

I don't mean to sound callous and uncaring, but the above is the simple truth.

[Katman]

Personally, I was 'over' the whole mining disaster thing after the first 24 hours.

Regardless of whether the money raised is necessary, the fact remains that the ride showed motorcyclists in an extremely good light.

We should all be thankful for that.

[danchop]

a lot of people make a lot of money setting up trusts and donations,the media jumped on the pike donation wagon the day the thing happened because the media makes a lot of money advertising such donations,i cant see either why this tradgedy turns to money collecting.
susan couch was almost killed at her workplace,and watched 3 others viciously beaten to death one by one in front of her,yet acc and the government continues to make her life and the others affected a misery

[PrincessBandit]

I agree and accept the comments that many many people suffer tragedy - though no direct action of their own - in their lives, and a good percentage of these continue to suffer and struggle for a variety of reasons.

However where there is public support of any kind (not just financial) it should be celebrated and no one wishing to mount some sort of assistance effort should be discouraged.

I thought those on the ride showed a great example of motorcyclists who throw in their support for a good cause, and hopefully there can be more positive coverage of the riding populace in other ways too.