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