The reality of a Climate Change Emergency
Today the high court in New Zealand ordered the community group, Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki, to pay $79,000 in costs to both the crown as well as a mining company known as Oceana Gold. Their crime, challenging a decision for Oceana Gold to create a new toxic mine waste dump in Wahi. The court application was dismissed due to “lack of public interest”, and now this non-profit has been ordered to pay nearly $80,000 to a mining company of all things and The Crown, two entities that are not exactly penniless.
For a community group to be penalised for asking questions, for challenging a decision to allow this toxic site to be built is disgusting.
Perhaps a little backstory is needed.
Oceana Gold is a foreign entity that likes money, more specially they like gold. They are a gold mining company who loves to carve up the earth, creating barren craters, all in the search for that shiny lump of metal that makes investors weak at the knees and people mad. When you mine, you need to create a place for the hazardous waste to go. Gold mining creates a lot of hazardous waste or tailings, gold is a very small portion of what is extracted during the mining process, less than 10 parts in one million. This tailing is a slurry of cyanide, that is used during the extraction process, other chemicals such as mercury, lead, and zinc, waste rock and water. Tailings can remain toxic for thousands of years.
OceanaGold applied to transform 178 hectares of farm land into a toxic dump site for their mining waste. This was initially refused by Eugenie Sage, the past Conservation Minister, but then cabinet removed her from this case. It was later handed to Grant Robertson and David Parker, who gave it the good ole kiwi thumbs up, because they are old cronies who still adhere to the economy above all model. Even if we sell off all our land to be destroyed and we are surrounded by a cease pit of destruction.
Enter Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki. This group challenged this decision. And they lost, due to lack of public interest. I can only deduce that lack of public interest equates to lack of people in powerful positions giving the green light and lack of economic backing.
Or as Justice Clark put it, who ruled on this case, as this as no relevancy to our government’s climate change policy, it therefore has no relevancy to public importance or interest.
Our systems here in New Zealand are fundamentally broken.
A few weeks ago we declared a climate emergency. Pretty words with no substance. As the adage goes, actions speak louder than words, and we are all flowery rhetoric, with no forward or courageous actions. We are continuing to give the green light to mining companies to scar our land, our home, we cut down trees for apartment dwellings, we pollute, we celebrate companies like OceanaGold; who offer the same trite proposal; we will kill your land, but we will boost the economy and give all the people in this small town jobs. Ain’t they saints? But people like Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki, who are trying to preserve our land, our home, our future, are penalised and treated like criminals.
This is messed up. To put it lightly.
This group does not know how they are going to pay this sum, nor do they feel it is fair to ask their supporters for help. As this money will essentially be lining the pockets of any environmentalists worst enemy, the mining industry. As the chair of the Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki has said, it is incredibly unfair and a deterrent for people to challenge situations like this in the future.
In my opinion, we should support Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki and aid them in paying this large sum. They stood up for us, the public as well as nature, and we can band together to help them through this tough time. We can help them so that they can be the voice for nature in the future. And also, fuck you, Oceana Gold.
To make a donation to Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki, you can go to https://watchdog.org.nz/join/