Guest post by Silvia Purdie

On Monday 2 May a group of 30 protestors occupied the Takitimu Coal Mine, forcing the mine to stop operations for the day. This was a collaborative action by Extinction Rebellion groups around Te Waipounamu and supported by Greenpeace and the Coal Action Network. One of the activists is a psychotherapist in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Michael Apathy (pronounced Apayti).

Michael describes some memorable experiences from the action:

“It was a great moment at 5.00am on Monday morning. We had succeeding in getting in and we were all in place within the coal mine; the towers were set up at the entrance, the climbers were in place, we had a boat on the lake. “We made it! We have taken possession of this space.” Suddenly I felt a huge buzz and delight, that lasted through the whole day. Even though I’d had no sleep I had this peaceful, energetic, joyful feeling. It became a meditation on being in the heart of the beast.

As the sun rose, the first thing for me was how great it was to actually be there and to see it. There I was, inside the mine, surrounded by all the giant piles of coal, literally inside the machinery that extracts it. Coal is such an abstract thing to so many of us. I talk to people and they are surprised: “We still mine coal in New Zealand?!” It is out of sight, out of mind. Being there made the climate crisis very real, rather than just numbers on a spreadsheet.

It was so stark: here I am on this big piece of machinery among the coal next to a poisoned lake, and on the silhouette of the hill there are cows grazing. Industrial dairying is killing off our waterways and contributing significantly to global warming. This is a key reason why New Zealand is actually really terrible in terms of climate change. This coal goes to Fonterra to be burned to dry milk powder to be shipped overseas. The whole system was so vivid to me in that moment: “It’s all here, the cows and the coal together.”

For most of the day I locked myself onto the conveyor, and I had several police negotiating with me. Late in the afternoon our group made the collective decision to leave. So I said, “So if I unlock, you will not arrest me?” – “Yep” – so I said, “Alright”, and we walked out. It ended with no one being arrested which was nice.

As we walked to the gate we were greeted by a big crescendo of drumming and singing, a celebration of what we had done. It was so beautiful. It made you feel you are part of this thing which is a work of art as well as a political action.

We are taking very serious action about the existential threat of climate change. Direct action like this is intense and serious. But admidst that there was music and dancing. We hung beautiful colourful flags. People wore silly cow onesies. It is important to us that direct action becomes light and playful and a celebration all at the same time.”

There’s more information, photos and video of the action here.

To download  Silvia Purdie’s full interview with Michael Apathi, click here.

The post Takitumu Mine Occupation, May 2022 appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

I recently found myself in Dunedin for the first time in a decade. It was wonderful to rediscover the city- not for the usual touristy things, but as an anti-coal advocate; there to support, among other things, the blockade at the Minerals Forum. The Forum was a conference involving promoting the expansion of coal in NZ. A (wonderfully named) COALition of activist groups including Coal Action Network Aotearoa had gotten together to tell the delegates exactly how unwelcome they were in their city.

We headed down in the darkness, where already at 6am delegates were scurrying into the building- three hours early, just to avoid us! Woohoo. Security had been standing there all night- it was about time we broke up the monotony.

Groups of dozens stood arm in arm, blocking a rumoured thirty-something entryways. There was an almost constant flow of support people coming around offering apples, water, snacks; others stopped by with various musical instruments for some entertainment or a singalong, still more raced around with walkie talkies saying where more people were needed. There was a chill tent with beanbags, there was about four thousand signs and banners, there was an appointed chef for a vegan BBQ. Every now and then things got intense as the delegates, generally alongside police but not necessarily, tried to barge their way through. We’d link arms just as staunchly as we possibly could, stand our ground, frenetic chants would well up of “We’re non-violent, how about you?” and we made it really, really difficult for them to get in.

We had everyone from high school students to retirees- none of whom shied away from the frontline. All ages, genders and backgrounds, linking up and singing songs. Our diversity was a stark contrast to the huddle of delegates we blocked- a sea of grey hair. In movie war scenes I always wonder how you can tell amongst the chaos who is a goodie and who is a baddie. In a blockade, it’s easy: baddies wear suits, protesters wear puffer jackets or colourful leggings or penguin onesies. Some protesters did wear suits, but they also all wore beanies; so in any potential times of confusion you can just check heads for beanies and you could be fairly confident who you were dealing with. And if you find yourself not on the side of the colourful leggings and the penguin indiscriminately giving out free hugs, you really have to question some life decisions.

I have to acknowledge the fantastic group of people involved in the blockade. That must be one of the most universally compassionate and sensitive environments I have ever encountered. They manage to successfully have no hierarchy, which baffled some people who wanted to speak to our ‘leader.’ Everyone brought their own vibes and it became an amazing collaborative spectacle. From harmonicas to hula hoopers, from hands glued to doors to those who stood nearby with signs and moral support, from the videographers and live streamers to the mystery people who pulled off a spectacular banner drop; it felt like one big amazing diverse organism, the sum so much more than its parts.

We kept a lot of them out for most of the morning, and when the last ones got through we dropped our positions, picked up various implements, and had ourselves a little party making as much noise as we could!

Unbeknownst to us, the mayor inside was bravely telling a room full of miners that he was on our side: “the people outside those doors are expressing the overwhelming view of this community and my Council.” I don’t think they’ll be in a hurry to host a mining conference in Dunedin again anytime soon.

So I spent four days in Dunedin, saw very little of the city, but would not have it any other way. Standing there in the early morning darkness, linking arms with strangers, singing Te Aroha – I felt in my bones there was nowhere I’d rather be. *

*Of course, really, I’d rather there wasn’t a climate emergency and I could just go down and see the penguins; but given the state of things- confronting the mining industry was pretty satisfying too…!

**I have also just about recovered from my lingering instinct to block the path of any suited man I see; which has not been ideal in the streets of Wellington.

The post The Minerals Blockade: A View From the Frontline appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.