15 arrested as climate activists block Canterbury coal mine over planned expansion
Monday, 28 September 2020
About 15 people have been arrested after climate activists locked themselves in vehicles to block access to a Canterbury coal mine.
More than 30 Extinction Rebellion activists began the protest at 4.30am on Monday, blocking the access road to the Bathurst Resources’ Canterbury coal mine. The activists stood down from the protest at 7pm on Monday.
Other activists were believed to have locked themselves inside diggers on the site in the Malvern Hills, about 20 kilometres west of Darfield.
Stuff understands at least 15 people were arrested. Police were concerned for the protestors’ safety as cold weather and snow were forecast.
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A police spokesperson would not confirm how many people had been arrested, but said a “number of protesters” had been arrested after chaining themselves to machinery in the mine pit area.
“While police recognise the lawful right to protest, our priority is to ensure safety and uphold the law.
“In this instance, it is not safe for the protesters to be in this area.”
Police would remain at the site and respond appropriately to any issues that may arise, the spokesperson said.
All trucks to and from the site had been stopped, with workers told not to come to the mine.
The protest was in reaction to Bathurst Resources applying for consent from Environment Canterbury (ECan) and the Selwyn District Council to expand the mine and increase coal extraction, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson said on Monday.
The site is currently 52 hectares, of which 38ha are mined, and owner Bathurst Coal is seeking “retrospective land use consent for existing and future earthworks”. About 95,000 tonnes of coal is produced at the mine each year, and sold for industrial and commercial use.
“To tackle the climate crisis we must stop burning coal,” Extinction Rebellion member Josie Butler said.
“As a Māori wahine I’m here today to stand up for Papatūānuku (mother earth) and to protect our whenua (land) for future generations.”
Butler said the majority of coal from the mine was burned at Fonterra milk factories to dehydrate milk into milk powder.
The group was calling for Bathurst and central Government to work together to decommission the coal mine while guaranteeing security and wellbeing for workers, she said.
Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman Zoe Deans, who grew up on a farm 5km from the mine, said protesters were prepared to be at the site for several days.
The group was calling for Bathurst to withdraw its application to expand the site.
“Coal is a climate killer, we have seen the impact of the climate emergency. California’s ablaze, Australia last summer. It’s frankly terrifying.
“We know that we can’t keep burning coal if we want to have a safe future,” Deans said.
Ciara Foley, 16, from Lyttelton, was the youngest protester at the site.
The Christchurch student said she was not concerned about being arrested.
“I think my future outweighs a trespass law,” she said.
“We can’t afford to be expanding coal mines in a climate emergency, we need to be shutting them down and providing an alternative for the workers.”
David Goldsmith was one of the protesters arrested.
He said he was released without charge but expected to receive a letter in relation to trespass.
“I definitely have no regrets about going in there and doing that, right at the scene of the crime,” he said.
Bathurst chief executive Richard Tacon said the 30 protesters were “disrupting the lawful activity of around 35 company staff”.
“We are concerned for the health and safety of the protesters who are trespassing on private property, in wintry conditions. Bathurst takes workplace health and safety very seriously,” he said.
“Unchecked, this disruption will lead to increased carbon dioxide emissions in New Zealand from transporting coal much larger distances to Canterbury customers, hundreds of kilometres instead of tens of kilometres.”
Coal Action Network Aotearoa spokeswoman Cindy Baxter said the group was standing in “solidarity” with the Extinction Rebellion protesters.
“The developed world must stop using coal by 2030 if we want to keep global warming to 1.5C under the Paris Agreement, and this should include Fonterra and the rest of the dairy industry.”
Straterra, New Zealand’s minerals sector industry organisation, said the activists needed a “reality check”.
“The coal these protestors are targeting was, a few short months ago, part of the supply chain for ‘essential services’,” chief executive Chris Baker said.
“These protestors are striking at the heart of our export dependent economy – could the timing be worse as we address the post Covid-19 recovery?
“We all understand the challenge to reduce emissions – but it is a global challenge, not New Zealand’s burden alone.”