Two environmental activists have been arrested and charged after spending three weeks in a coal bucket at the Stockton Mine on the West Coast.
Police said the pair, who were due to appear in court tomorrow, deviated from an agreed plan for coming down – and in turn – were stuck in a tree.
They had been protesting against mining at the Denniston Plateau, about 30 minutes from Westport.
Protester Rach Andrews told 1News: “We can’t keep destroying our wild places. You know, the Denniston Plateau is a unique, beautiful landscape where, you know, a massive array of flora and fauna have adapted to really thrive.”
Suspended over the ground for three weeks, the two protesters captured their efforts on camera, while living in the buckets used to transport coal from the Stockton Mine.
Advocate for mining, Minerals West Coast trust manager Patrick Phelps said the bucket was “not designed to have people in it, on it, around it I any way shape or form”.
“So people really shouldn’t be there in the first place.”
Helicopters had been brought in to try and get the pair to leave.
Mine owner Bathurst Resources said it also used an alarm and a bird scarer to try and deter the protest, which it called a dangerous and illegal occupation.
Bathurst Resources told 1News it had been trucking coal to the rail loadout instead of using the buckets while the protest took place.
Bathurst Resources applied to expand operations at Stockton under Fast-Track provisions, saying it could extend operations for another 25 years.
350 Aotearoa movement support manager Adam Currie said today’s arrests were “about silencing community opposition to this terrible mine”.
However, Resources Minister Shane Jones said: “The reality is that the police have to deal with whatever trespass issues.”
“In relation to the Fast-track process, it’s an open parliamentary process. There’s a lot of catastrophisation going on about the Fast-track and coal is going to be a key feature of our economy for at least another 40 or 50 years.”
Green Party MP Steve Abel argued there is a “total lack of process and consultation” around the Fast-track projects.
“This one will lead to an emission of coal equivalent to our entire greenhouse gas emissions for a year.”
Police continued to monitor activity at the mine, and said the allegations of intimidation were not sufficiently supported with evidence.
Despite this, Andrews promised to return when needed, as Bathurst Resources pushed ahead with its plan to expand.
