Below is an article I just wrote for the next issue of Auckland Animal Action’s newsletter/zine.
As the campaign to save Happy Valley, on the West Coast of the South Island, from being turned into a destructive opencast coal mine by state-owned Solid Energy enters its fourth year, the Save Happy Valley Coalition (SHVC) is continuing to take action around the country.
In Happy Valley itself, SHVC maintains the country’s longest lasting environmental occupation in history. On January 28th, 2006, 75 people made the three hour tramp into Happy Valley to begin the occupation and now, more than 15 months later, the occupation camp is looking beautiful and is ready to withstand its second harsh West Coast winter with snow, seemingly endless rain and biting cold. The Roa/Great Spotted Kiwi in the Valley call out to us every night and Western Weka roam around the campsite in a potent reminder of what stands to be lost if Solid Energy is allowed to destroy the precious ecosystem to mine climate changing coal.
Meanwhile, in Auckland, Wellington, the top of the South Island, Christchurch, Dunedin and the West Coast itself, local SHV groups are running stalls, public talks and film screenings, putting up posters and stickers, protesting and engaging in direct action.
On Sunday April 29th, two SHV activists in Christchurch locked themselves onto train tracks to prevent a coal train from Solid Energy’s Stockton mine arriving in the port of Lyttelton. At the same time, other SHV activists swarmed the coal train (which had stopped upon being informed of the locked on activists) hanging a 22 metre long banner reading “Solid Energy = Govt Sponsored Climate Change – www.savehappyvalley.org.nz”. The two activists, secured by metal pipes inside concrete laid under the tracks, remained there for several hours until fire rescue crew were able to remove them after jack hammering, grinding and digging away at the concrete. Both activists were charged with “interferes with railway line”, while their support person was arrested and charged with “communicating with a prisoner” after passing a bottle of water to the locked-on activists. In solidarity with this action, the Wellington SHV group hung a 10 metre long banner reading “Coal Mining = Climate Chaos – www.savehappyvalley.org.nz” from a motorway overbridge on the morning of Monday 30th.
SHVC needs your help! Join (or start) a local group and get involved in the campaign, or come and join our occupation (for 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months). We aim to provide food and transport costs for longer-term occupiers, so money shouldn’t be an obstacle. If you are interested, or want to find out more, visit our website at http://www.savehappyvalley.org.nz or email occupation@savehappyvalley.org.nz for occupation related questions.
May 3, 2007 at 7:10 am
Did you see this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i12qJ-Nejgk&eurl