of all charges" and "stifling a prosecution by deliberately misleading and deceiving the sentencing judge [District Court Judge Jane Farish]". Harder told Stuff "I hope the fact that the Law Society is finally looking at this unlawful agreement to stifle the WorkSafe prosecutions gives the deceased miners families here some little peace of mind and a little hope that there might still be a little justice to come." Harder did not wish to be considered the complainant or a party to the complaint, but described himself to the law society as "a messenger". He felt the society should have begun this investigation without his correspondence." Mine re-entry After an agreement was signed between New Zealand's major political parties in Wellington on 15 August 2017, soon-to-be Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged that a manned re-entry of the mine would be conducted with the object of recovering bodies and investigating the cause of the explosion. Meanwhile, preparations for a robotic entry later in the year continued. On 20 November 2017, Minister for Pike Mine Re-entry Andrew Little announced the creation of a stand-alone government department called the Pike River Recovery Agency to explore plans to re-enter the mine and recover the bodies of the deceased miners. On 31 January 2018, the Pike River Recovery Agency formally came into existence with its headquarters being in Greymouth. On 19 April 2018, Little, as Minister for Pike Mine Re-entry, entered the mine's portal with Pike Family representatives Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse to demonstrate that a safe re-entry was possible. He vowed that the coalition Government would re-enter the drift to recover evidence and the remains of the deceased miners. On 21 May 2019, a mine recovery team led by Pike River Recovery Agency chief operating officer Dinghy Pattinson re-entered the mine for the first time since 2010, breaking the concrete seal to the mine drift. Body recovery and forensic operations are expected to take several months. The mine re-entry was marked by family members releasing 29 yellow balloons and calling out the names of those who died. Re-entry and recovery operations will consist of three phases. The first team of miners will re-enter to assess hazards and to establish infrastructure for supporting the roofs and sides of the drift. A second forensically-focused mining team will then enter the mine to examine and remove any evidential material. A third team will provide mining services including