Stockton mine protesters 'selfish', 'irrational': Resources Minister Shane Jones
By
Sharon Davis*
Resources Minister Shane Jones.
Photo:
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Resources Minister Shane Jones has slammed the two protesters occupying a coal bucket on the aerial ropeway between Stockton and Ngakawau for being selfish and irrational.
"I'm horrified that these two saboteurs are not only endangering themselves but impacting the coal mining enterprise," Jones told The News today.
"It's incredibly selfish that these people are putting jobs at risk and adding costs to coal operations."
The latest protest began on Monday. Yesterday Bathurst Resources announced it was trucking coal from Stockton to Ngakawau because it couldn't use the aerial ropeway.
Jones said the fact Bathurst now had to truck coal down the hill meant more emissions.
"These protesters are irrational."
The protesters wanted to close coal mining in New Zealand, but if that happened coal mining would only increase somewhere else, Jones said.
"They want to destroy jobs on the West Coast." But coal-related jobs would increase elsewhere.
Two Climate Liberation Aotearoa protesters used the aerial rope way down to Ngakawau to access a coal bucket for a sit-in protest.
Photo:
Supplied
Jones said it was important to maintain these jobs and the related export revenue.
"I want these industries in New Zealand."
He expected to see more protests.
"They're going to continually challenge mining. Their agenda is to close them (mines) down. My agenda is to expand them."
He drew a parallel between the aerial coal bucket the protesters are occupying and the night carts of old that removed human waste. He wondered what the protesters were doing with their waste.
The News understands they are using a composting toilet.
Protesters used the aerial ropeway cables as a zip line to access a coal bucket high off the ground.
Photo:
Supplied
Climate Liberation Aotearoa spokesman James Cockle told the newspaper today the protest was still going strong and the protesters were safe and comfortable.
"We hope Bathurst will reconsider their fast-track application to mine Denniston," he said.
Protester Rach Andrews spoke to The News from a hammock stretched between two coal buckets this afternoon.
Rach Andrews on her cellphone in the aerial coal bucket.
Photo:
Supplied
She said a helicopter, not chartered by her group, had flown in to check on them this morning. They were busy drying everything out after the rain and enjoying the sunshine.
Andrews said complaining about the carbon emissions from carting coal to Ngakawau was a "bit of a red herring" when the proposed mine on Denniston would produce the equivalent of all New Zealand's emissions for a year.
She said any emissions from the extra trucking was insignificant in the grand scheme of things - and Bathurst could stop that at any time by withdrawing its fast-track application.
Responding to Jones' allegation that protesters were selfish and irrational, Andrews said mine expansions "for the short-term gain of a few people, at the expense of future generations" was irrational.
Ignoring that civilisation was on the brink of collapse from climate change was also irrational, she said.
*This story originally appeared in the
Westport News.
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