23 June, 2005
Environmentalists to Protest D.O.C.
The Save Happy Valley Coalition is to protest the Department of Conservation (DoC) at 59 Boulcott Street tomorrow,
Friday the 24th at 7.45am.
The group is demanding the Director General of DOC, Hugh Logan, to retract the permission given to Solid Energy to kill
endangered species at a proposed coal mine on the West Coast.
The proposal has gone through an Environment Court appeal and been given approval. It is currently being appealed in the
High Court by the Royal Forest and Bird Society of New Zealand, however it never should have been allowed to proceed in
the first place.
“DoC has abandoned its principles, and let down all New Zealanders” said Save Happy Valley Coalition spokesperson, Harry
Livesay.
Endangered species threatened by the proposed mine include the great spotted Kiwi and endemic snail Powelliphanta
“patrickensis”. The mine will destroy unique habitat as well as producing 13 million tones of climate changing CO2.
“It’s simply kiwis killing Kiwi and the climate.” he concluded.
ENDS