Four climate activists remain suspended in coal cable
cars more than 30 hours after their bold action began,
continuing to blockade coal from leaving Bathurst
Resources’ Stockton Mine. The protest has successfully
stopped all coal transport out of Stockton Mine, halting
Bathurst’s ability to export coal and drawing attention to
the company’s massive expansion plans.
on coal carts
(Photo/Supplied)
“We’ve been
here for two sunrises now because this mine is a line in the
sand,” said Adam Currie, one of the activists suspended in
a coal cart.
Currie said the protest had taken on
additional significance following the news of Pope
Francis’s passing.
“Pope Francis was one of the
strongest global voices on climate justice. His
groundbreaking encyclical Laudato si’ called on all of us,
especially young people, to act boldly in defence of our
common home,” said Currie, rangatahi climate activist.
“So yes, we’ll stay in this cold, grimy, and wet coal
bucket, because someone has to. Bathurst wants to unleash 53
million tonnes of climate pollution – that’s more than New
Zealand emits in a whole year. We can’t allow that
future.”
The occupation follows a five-day protest
camp of over 70 people, including tamariki and kaumātua, on
the Denniston Plateau, the site of Bathurst’s proposed
coal expansion.
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Campaigners
say Bathurst’s plan would devastate a landscape rich with
life, including great spotted kiwi, green geckos, and
ancient sandstone ecosystems, and have committed to
escalating action if the plan isn’t
scrapped.
“This is only the beginning,” said
Currie. “We’ve had whānau, churchgoers, students,
grandparents — all standing together. Once the pristine
Denniston plateau is mined, it’s gone forever. People are
tired of being shut out while foreign corporations backed by
banks like ANZ push us deeper into climate breakdown. We’re
not standing for it any longer. In fact we’re sitting. In a
coal bucket. Shutting down the biggest coal mine in
NZ.”
