Getting used to the ‘new normal’

Cow in dry weather, Wairarapa. Photo Dave Allen, NIWA

As I flew up the country from Wellington to Auckland this week, on yet another beautiful day, I was struck by the colour of our country.

Brown. Burned to a crisp.  The occasional smattering of green forest, but an island suffering from its  worst drought in 70 years, as I’d heard climate scientist Jim Salinger saying on the radio that morning.

Next I’m listening to Bill English saying farmers can’t expect get the same level of support in future droughts, if they continue to happen with more frequency, as NIWA tells us they will.

Meanwhile John Key is in Brazil pleading with oil giant Petrobras to come back, and an industry-written report tells us we should drill all over the East Coast.

Our Land, Our Water, Our Future – Worth Fighting For

Rob McCreath, our main guest speaker at the 2013 Keep the Coal in the Hole Summer Festival, has kindly agreed to speak in Dunedin on his way south - Wed 16 January 7pm at English Language Matters, Level 2 Evan Parry House, 43 Princes St. 

We’re looking forward to hearing how Rob and Friends of Felton stopped the coal mine and chemical plant in their area. And we’re hoping we can apply what he has learned to our own situation – how best to continue supporting our Southland neighbours, as well as protecting our own coastline and Otago region from more mining.

Tea, coffee and nibbles available. Hope you can make it. Here’s the Facebook invite: http://www.facebook.com/events/445175345537470/

Coal Action Network Aotearoa Newsletter October 2012

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If the New Zealand cricket team needs a new spinner to replace Daniel Vettori, they need look no further than mining industry lobby group Straterra. Perhaps because Solid Energy is in a tailspin and the mining industry has been coming under challenge all around the country in recent months, they have chosen to highlight a survey carried out, in somewhat mysterious circumstances, by Pauline Colmar, formerly of survey firm Colmar Brunton, which purports to show strong public support for mining.

However, on closer inspection, the survey was worded along these lines:

Survey company: Would you swim with sharks - if sharks didn’t bite?
Lots of respondents: Yes
Survey customer press release: “Majority of New Zealanders say they love swimming with sharks”
(notice the lack of options here for a respondent to say “hang on, but sharks DO bite”).

There’s more on that survey below. We have also more on Solid Energy’s troubles and their future plans; more on the forthcoming Powershift conference in December and 2013 Summer Festival in January; and the latest news on Denniston legal action.

Check out our international section that discusses the links between climate change and the horrific “Superstorm Sandy” in the US this week. Our thoughts are with the families of the people who died,  from the Caribbean to the US and Canada, and with those suffering in the devastation Sandy left in its wake.

Ka Nui! Enough! Protest the NZ Petroleum Summit: 19th September, Wellington

Ka Nui! Enough!

Join a coalition of local groups at a protest outside the NZ Petroleum summit 2012, and say “Ka Nui, Enough!” to the oil and gas industry.
Industries are literally counting down to this event, where the Energy Minister will speak on the government’s planned expansion of oil and gas extraction in New Zealand.

At a time when we should be transitioning towards clean energy and a sustainable and more equitable society, this government continues to push its “mine it, drill it” vision for Aotearoa New Zealand. This government is supporting an oil and gas industry which pollutes communities and our rural environment while bullying those who resist; all for the profit of a tiny minority.

With many in local communities across Aotearoa locking their gates to get oil and gas out of their back yards, it’s Wellington’s turn to show our support for the communities affected by the expansion of the oil and gas industries in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Sustainable future not climate chaos!

Clean waters not toxic oil spills!

5pm, Wednesday 19th September
Outside the Amora Hotel, Wakefield St, Wellington.
Please bring banners, placards, and noisemakers if you wish.

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/257320647720952/

Family friendly. Join us afterwards for a koha dinner and discussion.

The poster is below – if you are able to distribute these to friends/family/workmates/classmates or in local shops or libraries, that would be fantastic.

If you can’t make the event itself, but are willing to make a banner / placard at home, please email frances.mountier@gmail.com. Please see the text above for ideas for wording.

Drew Hutton Lock The Gates Tour, August 2012

Drew Hutton of Australia’s Lock the Gate Alliance is coming to Aotearoa to share his knowledge of coal mining, fracking and Coal Seam Gas exploration and their effects on rural communities, land and water.

Drew is a long-term environmental campaigner who has worked closely with farmers, landholders and indigenous communities in Australia. He is the President of the Lock the Gate Alliance.

Now you can learn from Drew’s experience and find out how we can Lock the Gate on fracking, coal mining and Coal Seam Gas projects.

Lock the Gates Tour

Tour schedule

Wellington: 22nd August, St Johns in the City, 170 Willis St, 6.30 pm.

Dannevirke: 23rd August, The Hub, Allardice St, 2pm.

Hastings: 23rd August, Heretaunga Taiwhenua, 821 Orchard Road, 7-9pm.

Gisborne: 24th August, Gisborne District Council Chambers, 2pm.

Te Karaka, 24th August, Rangatira Scout Hall, 7pm.

Rotorua: 25th August, Keynote speaker at Ka Nui Conference, Rotorua Convention Centre 3pm. http://kanuiconference.wordpress.com/

Hamilton: 27th August, Waikato University room S.G.03, 7pm.

Taranaki: 28th August, Norfolk Hall, S.H3 Norfolk (near Inglewood), 7pm.

Gore, 29th August, James Cumming Wing, Ardwick St, 7.30pm.

Ka Nui! Enough! Conference, Rotorua, 25-26 August: How To Attend, Why To Attend

In August the New Zealand mining industry is meeting in Rotorua “to celebrate New Zealand mining and the contribution this important industry makes to the future of the community through science, engineering and economic development.”

So we are holding the Ka Nui! Enough! Conference at the same time to discuss the huge negative impacts mining has on our economies, communities, and environment and what we are going to do about it. And we hope you’ll be able to attend.

Ka Nui! Enough!

Website: http://kanuiconference.wordpress.com/

Location: Rotorua

Dates: Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th August

Speakers: Dayle Takitimu (Te Whanau-a-Apanui) Drew Hutton
(Lock the Gate Alliance Australia), Dr Susan Krumdieck (Canterbury
University) and more . . .

Cost: $25 for the weekend or koha on the day.

Registration: to register email your name and contact number to kanuiconference@gmail.com

Kaupapa

The extractive industries, including fracking, mining & oil drilling, have huge negative impacts on our economies,communities & environment.

We must move past this in a way that is just for all. Join us to learn more and strategise together.

Please forward this invite widely. And please register asap to support those communities on the frontlines, to learn, to share, and to strategise.

Do You Want Mining Companies To Have Easier Access To Your Land?

The Government is currently reviewing the Crown Minerals Act 1991, and submissions on the review close on Friday 20 April. We think it’s a good idea for as many people as possible to submit on this review – so, if making submissions is your thing, this is a good thing to submit on.

Why? Well, to address the headline issue first, there have been suggestions that the Government plans to use this review to water down or even remove the provisions in the Crown Minerals Act that currently give private landowners the right to refuse mining companies access to their land. We think this might be quite an unpopular change, not least with farmers.

But there are other, wider matters worth commenting on, as outlined in the excellent submission guide on the Green Party blog at http://www.greens.org.nz/takeaction/submissionguides/review-crown-minerals-act-1991-regime - the following bullet points come from the Green Party submission guide:

• Currently the Crown Minerals Act allows the Government to grant permits for deep sea oil drilling. We suggest amending the Crown Minerals Act to prohibit permits for prospecting, exploration and production of oil in waters greater than 200 metres deep. Deep sea oil drilling is too risky.
• Under the Crown Minerals Act, the Government grants permits for oil and gas exploration that allow companies to use the controversial practice of fracking – pumping water, sand and chemicals at high pressure deep into the earth in order to extract oil and gas. Please tell the Government that oil and gas exploration permits should not allow fracking until the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment can assure the public it is safe.
• Mining and extraction has adverse effects on landforms, oceans, waterways and ecosystems. It is currently prohibited in National Parks and various other types of reserve, but under the Crown Minerals Act 1991 it occurs contentiously in other parts of the conservation estate. Tell the Government to amend the Crown Minerals Act to prohibit new exploration, prospecting and mining on conservation land and reserves.

The Green Party submission guide lists many more aspects of the review that you can comment on, and tells you the ways that you can make a submission. Here is some further information:

Submissions due: 5pm Friday 20 April 2012

Postal address: Resources Policy Group, Ministry of Economic Development, PO Box 1473, Wellington 6140

Email: CMAReview@med.govt.nz

There are a series of review questions that the Ministry is asking for feedback on, and of particular interest is Chapter 2: Health, safety and environmental (HSE) matters. It is a fairly short chapter to read and worth giving feedback on! Also of interest are Chapter 4: Petroleum, and Chapter 5: Tier 1 Minerals, especially the review questions relating to HSE matters.

Wellington Public Meeting 17/10/11

Say No to Fossil Fools | Panel Discussion | Wellington | Monday 17 October 2011

West Coast Environment Network Inc, Greenpeace NZ, Forest and Bird and Coal Action Network Aotearoa are pleased to invite you to:

Say No to Fossil Fools

A panel discussion with groups campaigning against fossil fool extraction.

Monday 17th October, 6-8pm
Wellington Central Baptist Church, 46-48 Boulcott St, Wellington. 

Panellists:

• Jeanette Fitzsimons (former Green MP, concerned grandmother) on Southland lignite
• Rod Morris (wildlife photographer) on the biodiversity rich conservation land of the proposed Denniston coal mine
• Mike Smith (Greenpeace NZ) on the threat of deep sea oil drilling happening off the East Coast
• Robyn Harris-Iles (Environmental researcher) on fracking (hydraulic fracturing)

All welcome
Free entry; koha appreciated

Each panellist will speak for 15 minutes. There will then be 45 minutes for questions and discussion, followed by time to check out the stalls of groups working on fossil fuel / climate change / climate justice campaigns here in Aotearoa NZ. Tea, coffee, biscuits provided.

Join the movement against the destructive expansion of fossil fuel extraction in the lands and waters of Aotearoa New Zealand. Protect our climate / health / conservation land / farmland / seabeds.

For more information, please email: coalactionnetwork@gmail.com

Please note:

• There is a flat entry (no stairs) into Wellington Central Baptist Church via the path to the right of the venue.
• There is free carparking available across the road at the Wilson Carpark – Just say you are at the meeting at the Wellington Central Baptist Church. (The Church has kindly offered for us to benefit from this arrangement with Wilsons Carpark).
• Of course, if you can bus / bike / walk etc to get there, great!

Kind regards,

Frances Mountier