The decision to protect a section of the West Coast’s Mt Rochfort Conservation area from becoming a coal mine – announced today by the Government – will come as an enormous relief to a lot of New Zealanders, Coal Action Network Aotearoa (CANA) said today.

“This is a victory for the thousands who opposed this mine from across the country, for the precious ecosystem on the mountain, and for the climate,” said CANA’s Cindy Baxter.

Earlier this year CANA, with 350.org, delivered a 6000-strong petition to the Ministers involved in the decision: Hon Meghan Woods and Hon Eugenie Sage, urging them to protect the area.

The Te Kuha Mine Site as it would be seen from Westport – top of the ridge is now protected.

“We know the Government has a new policy to protect conservation land from mining, but they still had to make this decision within the restrictions of a law designed under a different policy.  It’s great However, it was clear from the outset that this 12ha area was of outstanding conservation value,” she said.

The 12ha section at Te Kuha was at the top of the mountain, and part of a wider, 109ha mine footprint.  From the 2015 DOC assessment (see page 10 – and a map on page 9) it was clear the mine site would be visible from downtown Westport, and from the hugely popular tourist road through the Buller Gorge.  The company, Rangitira Developments, had applied to DOC for access in early 2016, but the decision was delayed.

Meanwhile, late last year the Buller District Council granted Rangitira Developments a consent to mine the bulk of the 109ha footprint, in the Westport Water Conservation Area.

Forest & Bird (joined by CANA, and the Department of Conservation) have appealed it to the Environment Court, which will hear the case late next month.  The Department of Conservation originally made a very neutral submission to the Council, but is now appealing the decision.

“Stevenson’s mining has said it cannot proceed if DOC declined its application so we will soon find out whether that was just bluff to pressure a decision in their favour,” said Baxter.

“But meanwhile we – and the kiwi and gecko and this beautiful area – are celebrating.”

The post Te Kuha protection a “victory for the people, climate change, and great spotted kiwi” appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition asking Ministers Sage and Woods to say “no” to granting coal miners access to despoil DoC land in their rapacious greed for coal.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to CANA’s appeal for funds to help us assist Forest and Bird in their Environment Court appeal against the decision to grant resource consent for Te Kuha by providing an expert economic witness to argue against the mine on economic grounds.

Te Kuha Appeal Update

We have raised well over $4000 from this appeal, but we need plenty more. If you can contribute to help us pay the costs of our expert witness, please do so here:

Coal Action Network Aotearoa
(Kiwibank) 38 9011 0484435 00

It’s 2018; we shouldn’t need to be still doing this! But we will, for as long as it takes. Every dollar donated is a dollar spent at the coal face of ending fossil fuel extraction in Aotearoa. With your help we will stop this mine.

Te Kuha Petition Presentation

The petition to Ministers Wood and Sage was presented to MPs Kiritapu Allan (Labour) and Gareth Hughes (Greens) by representatives from 350 Aotearoa and CANA, together with Forest and Bird, on Tuesday 20 March. You can watch 350 Aotearoa’s stream of the presentation here:

https://twitter.com/350nz/status/975880267410718720

Now the ball is in the Government’s court.

We’ve heard a lot of great talk from the Prime Minister and her Cabinet about their determination to act on climate change. The climate doesn’t respond to words – it responds to actions. Te Kuha provides an early test of whether this Government is prepared to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The post Te Kuha Update: Petition Presented, Appeal Continues! appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

It’s astonishing and appalling that a Government that says all the right words about the need for action on climate change may nevertheless let a new coal mine go ahead on the West Coast, when it could stop that mine with the stroke of a pen.

We’re calling on the responsible Ministers, Labour’s Megan Woods and the Greens’ Eugenie Sage, to do the right thing for our country, our climate and our planet and say “No!” to this project.  Sign our petition by Sunday to tell these two Ministers – no to a Te Kuha mine, no to new coal!

Background

The Buller District Council has just granted resource consent for Te Kuha mine, a 109 hectare opencast coal mine on the West Coast, but the government has yet to decide whether to allow the miners to take the top off the mountain – the 12 hectares that are part of the Mt Rochfort Conservation Park.

The Department of Conservation has stated that this area is “recognised as nationally and internationally unique and for having very high ecological and conservation value.” It contains Great Spotted Kiwi and other rare and endangered species and plants.

At a time when our government is claiming that climate change is our generation’s “nuclear-free moment,”  and has recently said that there will be no new coal mines on conservation land, it must say no to this mountaintop removal.  Without access to this precious DOC land, the mine is unlikely to go ahead.

Hon Dr Megan Woods (Minister of Energy and Resources) and Hon Eugenie Sage (Minister of Conservation), have the power to stop this mine.

Call on Megan Woods and Eugenie Sage to live up to their words, and pull the plug on this dirty and short-sighted project. Sign the petition here:

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-te-kuha-coal-mine

The post Last Chance To Sign! Petition to Save Te Kuha From Coal Mining Closes This Sunday, 18 March! appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Right now our focus is on the first of these 14 mines – Te Kuha, an untouched bushclad mountain ridge visible from the small town of Westport and from the beautiful West Coast tourist highway. Stevenson Mining have been granted consent to destroy Te Kuha for coal. Coal that, if we were responsible global citizens, we would not burn.

Forest and Bird, with support from CANA, has appealed the West Coast Regional Council’s decision to grant consent for Te Kuha in the Environment Court. CANA will provide an expert economic witness to argue against the mine on economic grounds.

That’s where you come in. Can you help? We need to raise funds to pay for that expert witness.

Every donation – no matter how large or how small – will help us pay these costs. Regular donations are also great. Please donate whatever you can afford to:

Coal Action Network Aotearoa
(Kiwibank) 38 9011 0484435 00

It’s 2018; we shouldn’t need to be still doing this! But we will, for as long as it takes. Every dollar donated is a dollar spent at the coal face of ending fossil fuel extraction in Aotearoa. With your help we will stop this mine.

The post Fundraising Appeal: Help Us Save Te Kuha appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Changing hearts and minds takes a long time but continuing the conversations with different audiences can bring surprises.

I live in Mossburn township in Northern Southland, and I went to the new monthly Mossburn Sunday Market recently to gather signatures for the petition against the proposed Te Kuha coal mine near Westport.

Because I was not sure what kind of reception I might receive, I softened my approach by taking organic vegetables and organic plums from my garden to sell for a good cause. The two tables sat alongside each other with the produce being the reason for people to stop and engage in conversations – usually initiated by me, even though I am quite well known in the area.

I took the large signs I usually have attached to my front fence such as ‘Fonterra Quit Coal’, the Forest & Bird sign ‘Our Oceans need a bold climate target’ as well as a genuine ‘Lock the Gate’ sign from Australia. I live on the main highway to Te Anau and Milford Sound so lots of people see my signs, know about why they are there and what I stand for.

The signs are always conversation starters as they were at the Market Day. In fact I had some very interesting and even surprising conversations.

Two local sheep and deer farmers, one retired and the other a young man, were fully in support of Fonterra! That intrigued me as I had thought, mistakenly obviously, that they would have been quite upset by the huge irrigators on their neighbour’s property, the removal of trees, the smell of cow manure, the big tankers on the roads, our rivers being polluted by the nitrates and run- off. Not so from these two. After some strong discussion we agreed to differ.

I tried for signatures to stop the Te Kuha proposal on the Buller Plateau. I had to tell the story of that issue to everyone. It resulted in some of them confessing they still use coal…. but some of them realise it is not good practice! There seemed to be no realisation about resulting health issues, let alone its impact on climate change.

Some wouldn’t sign as ‘the Coast has been doing coal for a long time and they need to keep doing it’! Several said they couldn’t sign because their relatives live on the Coast.

It seems that very basic education still needs to be done!

The best thing was a lovely young guy with a partner and three boys who told me they have moved to Lumsden from the rat race in Queenstown. They have bought a house as opposed to having to pay exorbitant rent and he continues with his IT business from Lumsden! His partner is into permaculture so they are loving the possibilities of extending their knowledge across the community.

He tried to help me explain to farmers about what Fonterra is doing to rivers and the effect of fossil fuels, but he realised it was all in vain with the farmers having closed minds about the capacity of the environment and very open minds to making money at any cost, or so it seemed.

My learning from this is that I need to be at this kind of activity in my local community to have these conversations so I hear what people whom I don’t meet often are thinking. I can plant seeds, have discussions, start them thinking and maybe even ‘Change some hearts and minds’. I might even find some allies / like-minded people so I realise I am not alone.

Also, there are people who will listen and sign up once the situation is explained to them. I did get 15 to sign – mainly from the stall holders – so that was a mini success.  What seems to make the difference is the personal touch,  and taking time to get alongside people.

I realise I need to go back to the next Sunday Market and keep interacting. Being an activist takes many forms – and to get active on coal takes many different actions, no matter how small, and happens in many places!

The post Changing Hearts And Minds At Mossburn Sunday Market appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

The Buller District Council has just granted resource consent for Te Kuha mine, a 109 hectare opencast coal mine on the West Coast, but the government has yet to decide whether to allow the miners to take the top off the mountain – the 12 hectares that are part of the Mt Rochfort Conservation Park.

The Department of Conservation has stated that this area is “recognised as nationally and internationally unique and for having very high ecological and conservation value.” It contains Great Spotted Kiwi and other rare and endangered species and plants.

At a time when our government is claiming that climate change is our generation’s “nuclear-free moment,”  and has recently said that there will be no new coal mines on conservation land, it must say no to this mountaintop removal.  Without access to this precious DOC land, the mine is unlikely to go ahead.

Hon Dr Megan Woods (Minister of Energy and Resources) and Hon Eugenie Sage (Minister of Conservation), have the power to stop this mine.

Call on Megan Woods and Eugenie Sage to live up to their words, and pull the plug on this dirty and short-sighted project. Sign the petition here:

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-te-kuha-coal-mine

The post Sign The Petition: Stop Te Kuha Coalmine appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

The Buller District Council has given the green light for the Te Kuha mine – a 109ha mine in the West Coast Water Conservation area  above Westport.

The top 12ha of the mine – the top of the mountain – is in the Department of Conservation’s Mt Rochfort Conservation Area and, in DOC’s own words:  is “recognised as nationally and internationally unique and for having very high ecological and conservation value.”

“Earlier this month Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage signalled there would be no new mines on conservation land,” said Rosemary Penwarden of CANA.

“This is now her test: will she allow a coal miner to take the top off a mountain, in an area that contains the endangered Great Spotted Kiwi?  Or will she all coal mining to go ahead, wiping out crucial biodiversity for coal that, ultimately, will end up in the atmosphere causing climate change?”

All indications are that the best coal for the proposed mine is at the top of the mountain.  The mining scar would be able to be seen from downtown Westport (see image from DOC below), and from the road through the Buller gorge – a spectacular tourist attraction.

The Department of Conservation’s role in the Buller District Council hearing was one of “neutrality” – however, one of its officers did spell out the destruction that would be caused to biodiversity.   Hearings for the DOC access consent were held nearly two years ago, and the Government had still not made a decision.

“All eyes are now on Ms Sage to back her words with real action and start bringing the Department of Conservation’s real role back,” said Ms Penwarden.

The post Press release: Te Kuha is first conservation test of new Government – Coal Action Network Aotearoa appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

‘Neoliberalism’ is one of those terms rarely used in a complimentary sense. In fact being described as a ‘neoliberalist’ tends to imply that your moral standing is only marginally above that of someone who steals from widows and orphans. Neoliberalism took a chokehold on New Zealand economic policy back in the 1980s and 90s, but does the emperor really have any clothes?

A central tenet of neoliberal dogma is that business should be allowed to do its own thing while the government stays out of the way. If markets don’t exist in such areas as land, water, or environmental pollution, then they should be created. Controls on working conditions and foreign investments should be relaxed. State assets should be sold off – privatisation and private property rights rule.

The 1991 Resource Management Act (RMA) attempted to set out how we should manage our environment in a sustainable way when making decisions about the use of resources. Decision-making processes, however, may give undue weight to claims that economic gains will compensate for any environmental damage caused.

In order for the best possible decisions to be made, it’s vital that councils and courts should have access to the best possible information. This doesn’t always happen. When Mokau South Resources (MSR) applied for consents to mine the Panirau Plateau, the supporting information was best described as scanty. For example, MSR’s consultant ecologist carried out a one-day field study but didn’t actually visit the proposed mine site. To its credit, the Waikato Regional Council didn’t let MSR get away with its shoddy application, which Tim Jones of CANA had compared unfavourably to that which might be produced by monkeys under zero-hours contracts with bananas banned from the workplace.

Stevenson Mining’s application to develop an opencast coal mine at Te Kuha on the West Coast has, on the other hand, been accompanied by pages and pages of information. Reports prepared by consultants for Stevenson, for the councils, for the Department of Conservation and for environmental NGOs all came to the same conclusion: Te Kuha has extremely high conservation and landscape values which will be irreversibly damaged if mining goes ahead.

The crux of the applicant’s case must be that the benefits resulting from mining Te Kuha would outweigh the environmental destruction. So what is the economic rationale of the proposal? Whereas the scientific aspects of the applicant’s case are backed up with actual evidence, we are asked to accept the economic claims on trust. The Council Planning Officers’ report simply states, “We acknowledge that the proposal will have clear positive economic benefits with respect to providing for employment and wider economic benefits to the district and region.” Well, that’s nice.

DOC and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) struck up a cosy arrangement in which they presented a joint submission on Te Kuha. MBIE consultants assessed the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project as $34–36m, but there is no reference to the identity of these consultants or to the evidence on which their opinions are based.

For those of us who don’t have a background in economics it’s easy to feel threatened by the unfamiliar language. (NPV? Go google.) But in order to challenge the promises of untold jobs and wealth, you often don’t need any specialist knowledge at all.

Let’s take a look at just a few of Stevenson’s claims:

“It can be assumed that the costs and benefits have been responsibly and properly analysed and that from the viewpoint of those with money at risk, the expected financial benefits exceed the expected costs.”
Who carried out this analysis? What were their findings based on? Has anyone told them about Mt Davy, Spring Creek, Escarpment, Roa – just some of the West Coast mines which have spectacularly failed to achieve the financial benefits claimed by their owners?

“Preliminary tests indicate that there could be three products from Te Kuha, including a premium one that will attract higher prices.”
What proportion of the coal will be of this grade? What will the price differential be?

“Te Kuha coal will be used in specialist applications such as for making carbon fibre, activated carbon and pharmaceuticals.”
Which of these processes are currently carried out in New Zealand? What discussions have been held with overseas manufacturers who might buy Te Kuha coal? Who are the competitors in this market?

“Te Kuha will generate 58 new mining jobs.”
Based on what evidence? How many jobs will be for current West Coast residents as opposed to transients?

“The value of coal produced will average $57m a year.”
What evidence does the company have that the recent wild swings in the price of coking coal will stabilise at a profitable level? What is this likely to be?

And one other question: If more than a century and a half of coal mining has failed to bring sustained prosperity to the West Coast, what is the factual basis for claiming that opening yet another coal mine will solve the area’s problems?

Some hard choices have to be made about our use of natural resources. But decision-makers can be hoodwinked into believing that they should accept without question any proposal that includes the words ‘jobs’, ‘profit’ or ‘tax revenue’. It’s time to insist that the same scrutiny is given to economic arguments as to environmental ones. It’s time to rip away the cloak of ‘commercial sensitivity’ that can be allowed to shield the emperor’s nakedness. And it’s time to listen when voices cry out, “But he has nothing on at all!”

The post The emperor’s new economics: how neoliberalism lets coal miners get away with making wild, unsupported claims about economic benefits appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.