Today, hapuu, and community and environment groups are tentatively celebrating news that Bathurst Resources is finding it difficult to find a market for the coal from a proposed extension of its its Rotowaro coal mine in North Waikato, and may no longer be applying for Fast-Track approval for the extension.

BT Mining (a Bathurst Resources and Talley’s joint company) told a recent Genesis Energy community meeting that market conditions are no longer favourable for a coal mine extension.

This is because its main customer, the Glenbrook steel mill, is set to halve its coal use once it has fully commissioned its new Electric Arc Furnace, which will focus on recycling steel rather than making new steel with coal. Genesis is moving to burn biomass instead of coal at Huntly, and other major local coal user Fonterra is switching its Te Awamutu dairy factory away from coal.   [See RNZ story 28 May]

Local and national groups oppose the mine extension, including a rangatahi Māori-led climate justice group from Kirikiriroa, Ngaa Haumi, who have collected 1214 signatures on an open letter to the Fast Track panel to highlight the importance of Te Tiriti and community opposition to the new mine.

“Coal mining disturbs the mauri that binds together all living things by destabilising the balance of carbon, the foundation of all life, between Ranginui and Papatūānuku. That is why we are hopeful  today that there will be a discontinuation of the Rotowaro operations, along with movements towards a just transition, which would help us move closer to protecting the wellbeing of whenua and wai for future generations,” said Hannah Huggan of Ngaa Haumi. 

Other groups campaigning against the mine extension are Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Forest & Bird and 350.

“It is clear that coal is on the way out for industry in Aotearoa, and that more modern, low-carbon technology designed to reduce emissions is the future for this country, not dirty coalmines,” said spokesperson for Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Cindy Baxter.

Glenbrook’s new Electric Arc Furnace was supported by the last Labour government under its Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund, which was designed to target emission reductions. The fund also contributed to Fonterra getting out of burning coal, and it has been converting its Te Awamutu dairy factory to biomass, whereas it was previously taking coal from Bathurst. The fund was dropped by the current government.

“That Bathurst is finding the market for coal difficult demonstrates that strong policies to support the decarbonising of industry do work, and the decisions to support Glenbrook and Fonterra out of coal are doing what it says on the packet; putting a question mark over a dirty new coal mine,” said Baxter.

The project would have extended the life of the Rotowaro mine in Huntly for a minimum of 19 years, which would enable the company to mine an additional 6.64 million tonnes of coal.

“If Bathurst decides against the mine, this will stop around 14.5 million tonnes of polluting carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere. It’s good for the climate, and for the country,” said Baxter.

“Policies that mitigate climate change and support decarbonising New Zealand’s industry helps protect our vulnerable wildlife. Stopping the expansion of this mine has saved habitat for our wildlife and reduced the amount of carbon released. Anything we can do to reduce the acceleration of severe climate events can save habitats,” says Elvisa van der Leden, Forest & Bird.

“The best choice now is to take further steps towards a just transition, led by tikanga, mana whenua, and the affected community. It is essential to move away from fossil fuels in a way that ensures people thrive, where workers are respected, supported and protected from last-minute job losses. There is more work to be done,” says Ngaa Haumi.

The post Bathurst may scrap Rotowaro mine expansion as industry cuts coal use; renewed calls for a just transition appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

https://share.google/1CwTO1kJx4rIo8iew

This documentary premiered at Parliament recently; here is the press release from that event, featuring Jenny Patrick OBE, the author of the historical novel, “Denniston Rose”:

https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/denniston-rose-author-backs-petition-stop-mega-coal-mine

Forest and Bird have launched a national petition that asks for more than just stopping the mine; it demands a permanent solution, calling on the Government to reclassify the public conservation land on the Denniston Plateau as a Scientific Reserve.

This is the only rational, long-term solution to protect its unique ecosystems and ensure we are not fighting this same battle every decade.

• Please sign and share the petition here: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/petitions/make-denniston-scientific-reserve

Bathurst’s proposal for open-cast mining of the Denniston Plateau and Mt. Frederick is already on shaky ground. They face significant financial hurdles, and are in litigation with their business partner, Talley’s, in what seems like an attempt to get money out – Talley’s are aware of the risks if Bathurst spend a bunch of money developing these new mines and then soft demand results in Bathurst going belly-up, with nothing for Talley’s.

Globally, the coking coal market is turning. This year, China announced it will not consent new coal-powered steel foundries, and the global coking coal price has softened in response to oversupply.

It doesn’t take many of these factors stacking up to make the entire operation economically unviable.

WITH YOUR HELP, WE WILL WIN THIS!

Kia Kaha,

Coal Action Network Aotearoa

The post The Save Denniston campaign kicks into high gear appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

NB: This action was organised by 350 Aotearoa and Climate Liberation Aotearoa. For more information on these groups, or to join, support or follow their work, click on the links!

Protest Notes, by Masha Oliver

We’re sitting on the edge of a man-made drainage lake, staring at the landscape scar in front of us. A hill, cut in half and completely deformed, exposing layers and layers of rock, from grey sandstone at the top through wide streaks of white to a thick vain of deep black coal. It’s like looking at an abstract painting, as well as looking back in time. A human could not paint it better. Above it, stretches a banner: “Just transition off coal.”

It’s the first day of our encampment on Denniston Plateau as part of non-violent direct action for climate justice and to protect the unique landscape and biodiversity of the Plateau. Morning graciously offers us a window of sunny weather, which we use to roll out the banners, take some photos, chant and sing out loud what needs to be heard – Protect Denniston plateau! I look around and see all these people – from kids to elders – who I’ve never met before, coming together for the same reason, to protect something we all deeply care about. There’s a wonderful feeling of pride and power resonating through us. The spirits are high as we buckle down for the cyclone that is on its way and prepare for the main actions later in the weekend.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

We’ve come here because we all – the whole planet – are running out of time. We’ve come here because there is no planet B or a spare atmosphere we could replace and wrap our Earth in. We’re here because we know everything on this planet is intricately linked and can only exist in coexistence, which requires a stable climate. We are here because the new mine on Denniston Plateau, proposed by Australian-based mining company Bathurst, if developed, will create the same amount of emissions as the whole Aotearoa New Zealand produces in a year. Over 25 years it will extract 20 million tons of coal – in an era when the rest of the world is transitioning off fossil fuels, when global warming has already overshot the predicted models, environmental collapse is happening all around us and climate events are threatening the livelihoods and homes of our communities and communities around the world.

The mine is one of the listed fast-track projects. The fast-track legislation circumvents the laws designed to protect the environment and health of people. There is no participation process in the fast-track legislation. The legislation prevents public scrutiny and bypasses environmental considerations. Fast track is an assault on the environment and democracy and it has so far, resurrected certain projects that have previously been declined as they proved environmentally unacceptable. This is happening in a country that is perceived on the world stage as the “green queen” with strong democratic roots.

Photo: Geoff Keey

The specific piece of land where the mine is proposed is public land. It belongs to all New Zealanders and is managed on behalf of Kiwis by the Department of Conservation. It is public conservation land, put aside for protection in perpetuity due to its natural values. When DOC was established in 1987, huge parts of public conservation land were put aside, waiting to get properly assessed and classified either as National Park, Conservation Area, Ecological Area or any other classification designed to protect the natural or historical values of the public conservation land. This never happened, but a reclassification process started a couple of years ago. A national panel of experts suggested this land becomes a Conservation Area –  assuring the lowest protection possible – while environmental NGOs like Forest and Bird, Environmental Defense Society and Federated Mountain Clubs among others, suggested this to be a Scientific Reserve – which protects the land to even greater extent then National Park and permits no mining. This classification was suggested due to the incredible ecological richness of the area, with many endangered and endemic species living here, many of which have not even been identified yet.

Photo: Geoff Keey

I am no scientist or ecologist. But I am a lucid observer and I have spent my entire life roaming through natural landscapes. I can tell, usually just by moving through the land, how special and alive the land is. Coming to the camp spot, I was blown away by the landscape we traversed. Sandstone pavements, rocky outcrops, bonsai-looking bush stunted by extreme living conditions, and the wild Tasman Sea in the distance. This 40 million years old plateau laying 600-1000m high, is a place close to heaven – braided with streams and gorges, dappled with areas of high wetlands, extensive pieces of land mass rolling out as far as an eye can travel, with areas covered in red tussock, takahe’s favourite delicacy. The landscape seems surreal – something I have not seen elsewhere in New Zealand and I have tramped in many places. Looking at it from the birds-eye perspective on Google Earth, it stands out from afar – if you let your eyes travel up and down the island you will not see anything like it. It is truly unique.

And so is the abundant life up here. As we make our way to the camp, a fern bird, an extremely rare bird, flies by. This is a sanctuary for Great spotted kiwi, rare skins, ancient velvet worms, giant snails, weta, geckos, rare moths … The area is, as surveys in the past showed, of high ecological value. Many species here have not been identified yet. Bathurst’s mining project, if it goes ahead, will cause irreversible biodiversity loss, habitat and landscape destruction, increased carbon emissions, and acid metallic drainage that needs critical management for 100 years. Endemic plants and animals will be lost. This will all happen on Aotearoa New Zealand public conservation land with no public input. The profits will go to a private company, with 90% overseas shareholders.

Photo: Geoff Keey

And that’s why we are here. When there is no option for advocacy and dialogue anymore, action needs to take place. Our encampment is a compact flock of colourful tents in an area that was used by Bathurst as an operational pad for the nearby mining. From where we’re camped, we can see the hill, covered in bush, that will be beheaded, if this project goes ahead. There are about 70 of us here and I don’t know one single person, but walking through the camp, I feel I have slipped into a community, where everyone knows each other and a strong quiet sense of camaraderie resonates between us. As the rain settles in, so do we, under the big marquee, where the learning and collaboration begin. We’re learning about facilitation and de-escalation strategies. We discuss and practice how to react and talk to media, police or locals if any of them turn up. We look at the issue from many sides – what would you say to a local who works in the mine and needs to put food on the table? We head out for a botanical walk, to familiarize ourselves with what is at stake. More learning follows – about the context of the fast track bill, the mining plans and Bathurst. A workshop facilitated by a local environmental group takes us through details and different perspectives of the issues – what we are about to lose, what are the gains, and what are the false gains portrayed by Bathurst and the government. The hardest part to digest it the presentation from a university researcher. We are warned it will be grim, so we brace ourselves.

Tim, who has dedicated his master’s study to climate change, takes us step by step through the facts – what we already know and what the models show. It is not pretty. In fact, it is terrifying. We have already passed 1.5-degrees warming and plants have reached the peak of carbon dioxide sequestation in 2008. Proportion absorbed has been declining since. Emissions would need to fall by 0.3% per year, just to stand still, though at the moment, they are increasing by 1.2% per year.

It is no better on the fauna front. The total global insect population has declined by 41% in the last decade and animal populations have experienced a 70% average decline since 1970. Human-made materials now outweigh Earth’s entire biomass. The amount of plastic alone is greater in mass than all land animals and marine creatures combined. Looking at the effects of global warming in New Zealand, the most jarring one is the loss of  1/3 of the entire glacier mass since 2000. The sea water heatwave in 2022 pushed the water temperature to 4.4 C above average, causing the deaths of millions of marine sponges in Fiordland.
At 3C or more of heating by 2050, there could be more than 4 billion deaths, significant sociopolitical fragmentation worldwide, failure of states – with resulting rapid, enduring, and significant loss of capital – and extinction events.

I’m listening and the facts, one by one, are landing heavy on my mind, to a point, when I feel my cheeks are hot with tears. I don’t dare to look around, as I feel that will break me, but I sense the heaviness has landed on everyone and the mood has shifted. The question is not if we are crashing or not, the question is how hard we crash.
A support and debrief session is offered after Tim’s talk to help us process what we’ve heard. I fear it will make it worse, so I walk out. When I return, I find Tara completely red-eyed. She hasn’t stopped crying.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

Ironically enough, our climate justice action coincides with the arrival of yet another cyclone. Despite persistent rain and Tim’s talk, the spirits remain high. We prepare the camp for even more rain to come – the tents are readjusted and secured by rocks, and the drainage channels are dug while the dinner is being cooked. There is very little need for coordination and instructions. Everyone seems to make themselves useful with not much talking. People see work and pick it up. Things just get done. I’m impressed with how well everything is organized and how smoothly everything seems to flow. Regular check-ins make sure we  see how we’re feeling collectively. No one seems to be taking too much space or air time. It seems all egos got left at the bottom of the hill. I wish every workplace would function like this. Decisions are made with everyone’s input, but somehow very quickly and nimbly. I have worked in many places and been part of many groups.  I have never experienced such cohesion and a sense of unity before. I haven’t even imagined something like this is possible.

Sunday is spent in preparation for the main two actions on Monday – to climb up the towers and occupy the coal buckets bringing coal from Stockton mine, stopping operations for 24 hours, which later on extends into 60 hours, and an expedition to a Happy Valley, a place of resistance and protest about 20 years ago, an operating Cypress mine today. While climbers are practising their rope work and the support crew is preparing for the off-site action, the deluge begins. The rain is hard and persistent. Only later we hear about the flooding of the roads down below the hill, in Waimangaroa. The fire brigades are called out throughout the night. The camp remains standing. As the night falls, there is a curtain of water surrounding us. We gather in one and only dry communal space, normally used as a kitchen. There’s a feeling of excitement in the air, but also the anxiety of what the morning might bring.  Everything feels heightened. Dinner is being cooked while the climbers and action groups are frantically packing in the dark, walking around with their climbing gear and harnesses still on. It is impossible not to feel in the way, or be constantly pushing through a mass of damp bodies. The camp turns into chaos for a few seconds, we’re all blinding each other with torches, frantically trying to pack or help with packing.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

The next day I wake up to the news that the bucket crew made it in the buckets. Feeling happy are not words that I use lightly, but there is no other way to feel right now. The steely sky and the promise of more rain fade away by expanding happiness and pride. Only a small group of us remain at the camp – we’re holding the fort throughout the day, as the news starts trickling in. First is the news from our groups – the bucket team, the  Happy Valley team, and the support crews. Then the media news starts popping up. And then suddenly, it’s all happening – Bathurst, Department of Conservation, our lawyer, police – everyone is on board and communicating. We get visitors to the camp – friendly locals bring us doughnuts and come to show their appreciation and support.

As I am washing the dishes, and listening to the news from our crew in the field, a robin lands on my head. A brief light touch, almost fleeting, yet a certain blessing. I know I am where I’m supposed to be.

I can still feel the brush of wild and divine on my head. It’s a reminder and a plea. To keep returning to Denniston.

I know I am not the only one, returning. We are many. And we will not give up.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

Denniston, by Ben Lowe

Denniston is the most amazing place, maybe the most amazing place in New Zealand. It is also the most pivotal place in New Zealand. The reason it is so amazing is that the flora and fauna there is unique. The reason it is so pivotal is because it perfectly encompasses the two sides of the climate debate. Under this unique environment is coal, the most climate-destroying fossil fuel.  To lose here is to lose everywhere.

Photo: Geoff Keey

The post Denniston Plateau Occupation, Easter 2025 appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

(For the purposes of this article, I’m considering BT Mining, their jointly-owned subsidiary with the notorious fishing company Talleys, as part of Bathurst – despite the fact that Bathurst and Talleys are fighting in the courts.)

Having a compliant Government, and a Prime Minister who mouths all the mining industry’s talking points like the world’s most complacent sock puppet, has certainly helped Bathurst’s prospects and lessened the continuing grumbling from their investors about inadequate dividends.

The Government has included two planned Bathurst mining projects, Buller Plateaux and North Rotowaro, in the list of projects in the Fast-Track Approvals Act.

But all is not rosy in the garden. The problem for Bathurst is that, despite their and the Government’s worst efforts, Aotearoa is slowly continuing to move away from the use of thermal coal – that is, coal burned to provide heat for industrial processes and energy generation. For many years, the three biggest domestic users of coal have been Genesis Energy’s power station at Huntly; Bluescope’s New Zealand Steel plant at Glenbrook; and Fonterra’s many coal-fueled milk powder factories. But in recent years:

• Genesis has been experimenting with replacing coal with wood pellets at Huntly, and has recently announced a partnership to produce the necessary biomass – though there has also been talk of extending coal use at Huntly, so that’s a mixed bag.
• Under continuing pressure from consumers, especially in Europe, Fonterra is sticking to its programme to end all coal use at its factories by 2037. It ended its coal use in the North Island in November 2024, and is now beginning to tackle its largest South Island milk powder factories.
• New Zealand Steel is planning to commission its new electric arc furnace in late 2025 , potentially reducing a million tonnes of emissions from burning coal per annum.

While there are many smaller users of thermal coal in Aotearoa, and none of them should be let off the hook to decarbonise, such cuts by the “big three” have left the future of thermal coal mining in Aotearoa looking increasingly short-term. The Government, despite adding metallurgical coal to its critical minerals list against the advice of the consultants who drew up the draft list, left thermal coal off the recently-released critical minerals list.

So Bathurst are betting big on mining metallurgical (coking) coal, which the Government did include on the critical minerals list. This coal would not be for domestic use – confusingly, New Zealand Steel uses thermal coal, not metallurgical coal, in its current Glenbrook furnaces. It’s all about export, and Bathurst is betting that it can navigate a world increasingly breaking into geographic power blocks and find markets for coking coal. That is very bad news for a large stretch of beautifully, ecologically valuable land on the West Coast – if they’re allowed to get away with it.

I expect you’ll be hearing plenty more about Bathurst’s Buller Plateaux projects this year, so in this article I’ll focus on their other projects. What else has Bathurst got going on?

• Bathurst’s second fast-track project is the North Rotowaro coal mine near Huntly. This is near to their existing Rotowaro mine, and if it goes ahead, would result in around a million tonnes of GHG emissions per year – so it is a substantial project that we’ll be working hard to oppose with the tools available to us.
• Separately, they have started on a three-year project, called Waipuna West, to extend the existing Rotowaro mine.
• Bathurst’s Maramarua mine, also in Waikato, has an existing M1 pit and an M2 pit that they’re going to be seeking resource consent for. There is a long and distinguished history of protest against coal mining at Maramarua.
• Their other North Island facility is their corporate head office at 1 Willeston St, Wellington, just a well-fed post-lunch stroll down from delivering personally-labelled lumps of coal to the Beehive.

Turning to Te Waipounamu, besides its big investment in the Buller Plateau, Bathurst has the Takitimu mine in Southland. Takitimu is due to close in the 2027 fiscal year, and we are currently trying to establish whether, in the light of the decline in South Island thermal coal use, Bathurst is planning to go ahead with the possible nearby New Brighton mine, which Forest and Bird has taken legal action against.

Bathurst has more corporate offices in Christchurch, a large coal yard in Washdyke, Timaru which appears from aerial photos to be exposed to the open air.

The Bathurst commercial “ecosystem” is, to put it mildly, a target-rich environment for both lawyers and activists – and just in case you thought Bathurst didn’t have enough appetite for risk, they are also trying to develop two large coal mines in that latest of geopolitical hotspots, Canada.

Right now, Bathurst Resources is a bit like Gollum. They can see the ring. They wants it, precious, yes they does. But it isn’t quite in their grasp yet. It would be such a pity if a crew of Eowyns and Frodos and Aragorns were to rise up, stand against them, and send them falling into the Mount Doom of failed companies and melted corporate dreams.

– Tim Jones

The post Bathurst Resources: Poised Above The Precipice appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

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.

“Governments around the world are announcing phase-out dates for coal. It’s time New Zealand stopped dragging the chain…”

The post It’s coal’s turn on the ash heap of history appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

“This could spell the end of cheap coal for Fonterra’s Canterbury operations, and should give the company an opportunity to make the switch away from coal, the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel,” said Cindy Baxter, a CANA spokesperson.

Fonterra’s Darfield dairy factory has two large, relatively new coal boilers, totalling 75MW, and burns around 90,000 tonnes of coal a year to dry milk powder for export. Last year Coal Action Network, alongside Extinction Rebellion Ōtautahi, blocked the mine to protest the expansion.

CANA and XR Ōtautahi blockade at Bathurst Canterbury Coal mine blockade, September 2020.

“Against the background of the Climate Change Commission recommending the dairy industry gets out of coal by 2037, the closure of this mine provides yet another incentive for Fonterra to dump coal, and make the switch to biomass, but of course the impact on climate change should be incentive enough,” said Baxter.

Bathurst Resources was in the middle of an application to extend the mine, but the application process had reached a sticking point.  It was being extraordinarily recalcitrant with Environment Canterbury over its refusal to accept that it was mining far more coal than it had consent for.  Over the past five years it had been fined for 28 breaches involving runoff into the local stream, threatening the habitat of the endangered Canterbury mudfish.

A Selwyn District Council report showed It had also committed numerous breaches of noise, truck movements, lights at night, dust and mining of more coal than it was allowed. Bathurst disputed this, and was also refusing to provide information to the councils as part of its application.

“One wonders whether the negotiations with ECAN over these breaches and the cost of compliance made the coal too expensive to mine,” said Baxter.

The Overseas Investment Office gave the green light for this Australian company to purchase land for its mine extension, something it should never have done in light of the illegality of its operations there.

“At the end of the day, an end to this coal mine could serve to drive up the price of thermal coal in Aotearoa and, in climate change terms, every closed coal mine is a good coal mine.  Now, we look to Fonterra to dump coal altogether, and make the switch.”

The post Bathurst to close Canterbury Coal Mine: all eyes now on Fonterra appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

https://wp.me/p7SYjY-5hH

Whilst no dates have yet been set for the resource consent hearings, we have another opportunity to oppose the mine expansion, via submissions to the Selwyn District Plan:

https://yoursay.selwyn.govt.nz/selwyndistrictplanreview

NB: You don’t have to live in the Selwyn District to make a submission, and a local resident and environmental activist, Siana Fitzjohn, has put together a very helpful “how-to” guide:

Selwyn District Plan Submission Guide CANA

Please note that the closing date for submissions is this Friday, 11 December, at 5pm.

Siana Fitzjohn with her KuneKune pig Splodge (Otago Daily Times)

The post A guide to making submissions against the Coalgate mine, via the Selwyn District Plan appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

The post “Fuelling Dissension” appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Bathurst Resource’s planned extension of its Canterbury coal mine, shut down by protesters this morning, is proof that dairy companies like Fonterra are not moving out of coal fast enough, says Coal Action Network Aotearoa (CANA).

“We stand in solidarity with the Extinction Rebellion protesters who have blocked the Canterbury Coal mine this morning: Fonterra should be ashamed that its failure to shift off coal is the reason Bathurst wants to expand this mine,” said Cindy Baxter, of CANA.

“The developed world must stop using coal by 2030 if we want to keep global warming to 1.5˚C under the Paris Agreement, and this should include Fonterra and the rest of the dairy industry. Fonterra’s our second-largest user of coal, used to dry milk: we wonder if our export markets are aware of the pollution behind this product.”

“Not only should the mine extension not go ahead, but Environment Canterbury should shut it down altogether due to Bathurst’s ongoing and extensive breaches of its consents, described by a Judge as a “systemic failure to comply” when he fined the company for yet another breach in January this year.

Over the three years from 2017-2020, Bathurst has been fined a total of around $38,000 for allowing runoff to flow into a local stream 28 times, a stream that is home to a nationally threatened species, the Canterbury mudfish.

ECAN was supposed to hear Bathurst’s application, but this has been delayed. The company had repeatedly failed to provide the Selwyn District Council with information it had requested in order to fully assess the impact of the expanded mine footprint.

In 2017, the Selwyn District Council discovered, in response to local complaints around an increase in traffic, dust and vehicle movements, that Bathurst was mining more coal than it had consent for, and requested that the company apply for that consent.  In her report, planning consultant Janette Dovey stated:

“I was engaged to process that on behalf of SDC in late February 2018. During that process, it became evident that the increase in heavy vehicle movements was directly related to the increase in the volume of coal being extracted, and that the increased Mine production was not consented, with additional non-compliances being applicable.”

“Bathurst appears to have recognised its inability to operate safely and legally to the extent that its new application to increase the mine is riddled with ‘retrospective’ applications to bring its previous breaches within the law. The company is making a nonsense of the regulatory process and ECAN should shut it down,” said Baxter.

 “It’s 2020 and it’s time Aotearoa got out of coal: this mine going ahead shows Fonterra is a laggard, despite all the nice words and membership of so-called sustainable industry groups.”

The post Fonterra should be ashamed of causing coal mine expansion: CANA supports activists appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.