For immediate release: Friday 20 July 2012

Coal Kills Kiwis:

10,000 People Call on John Key to Protect the Denniston Plateau

A 10,000 strong petition will be delivered in front of the National Party Conference on Saturday 21st July in Auckland to protect the Denniston Plateau from an opencast coal mining proposal. Phil Twyford, Labour Spokesperson for Transport, Auckland Issues and Associate Environment, will accept the petition at the event.

Citizens across the country signed the Avaaz community petition calling on the Government to block the project, which would destroy 200 hectares of Denniston Plateau, a pristine environment on New Zealand’s West Coast. These include forests that are home to the vulnerable Roroa Great Spotted Kiwis, and newly identified species that are unique to Denniston.

The campaign was started by Alex Winter-Billington, a passionate New Zealander, on the community petition website of Avaaz, a global campaign organisation.

Alex Winter-Billington said “We call on John Key to deny the permits for devastating mining on the Denniston Plateau. We have put decades into Kiwi protection, we breed and rear them by hand and put enormous emotional and financial investment into predator control. How much sense does it make to have done all that only to wipe out one of the few kiwi populations that is thriving without our help?”

A public demonstration accompanying the delivery of the petition to MP Twyford will be held outside the SkyCity Conference Centre from 7.30 - 9:30am on Saturday 21st July. The event will be attended by members of the public, and representatives of other environmental organisations also campaigning for the protection of the Plateau.

The campaign appeals to PM John Key and Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson to deny Bathurst Resources the necessary permits to run a new coal mining project on the Plateau. Both PM Key and Minister Wilkinson declined to meet the public at the delivery event.

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