Starve coalminers of cash, say anti-coal campaigners

Campaigners against Bathurst Resources' proposed coalmine on the Denniston Plateau, a beautiful and biodiverse part of the West Coast, are putting pressure on the banks and other financial institutions that fund the company to withdraw their funding.

Speakers from Coal Action Network Aotearoa, 350.org.nz and Forest & Bird will address a public meeting in Wellington on Wednesday to let people know about the West Coast's Denniston Plateau, about the plans to mine it by Australian company Bathurst Resources, and about how the public can pressure Bathurst's financial backers to withdraw their funding.

"Getting banks and other financial institutions to divest from fossil fuel companies and fossil fuel projects is a campaign that's gaining momentum all over the world," said Coal Action Network Aotearoa spokesperson Tim Jones. "And now this campaign is catching on in New Zealand."

"The Auckland Diocese of the Anglican Church recently decided to divest from the fossil fuel industry - the first institutional body in New Zealand to do so. They were quickly followed by the Wellington and Waiapu Dioceses," Tim Jones said. "Other institutions are coming under pressure to divest from fossil fuels."

"Our focus at Wednesday's 'Save Denniston' meeting is very specific: we want Bathurst Resources' bankers to stop lending them money that enables them to despoil the earth and contribute to climate change through mining coal. We're going to tell people how they can use the power of their wallet to send a very clear message to Bathurst's bankers, and other financial institutions: if you keep funding Bathurst, we're taking our money elsewhere," Tim Jones said.

The meeting is taking place in the Dance Studio, Toi Poneke, 61 Abel Smith St, from 6-8pm on Wednesday 25 September.

Contact:

Tim Jones

Coal Action Network Aotearoa

tjonescan@gmail.com

ENDS

© Scoop Media