New Zealand Backs Away from Park Mining Plan
International pressure, plus internal pressure, forces government to cave
This page was published 14 years ago. Find the latest on Earthjustice’s work.
A few months back we reported on a campaign led in North America by Richard Cellarius of the Sierra Club to discourage the new conservative government in New Zealand to back away from a plan it had floated to open some of its national parks to mining, for coal and other minerals.
Well, sometimes you win one.
Today (July 20) comes news from Dr. Cellarius that the Kiwi government caved. It will not move to open any of the parks to mining. Many international groups and individuals weighed in to oppose the scheme (including a few of you, perhaps), along with a reported 37,000 New Zealanders. Bravo!
Tom Turner literally wrote the books about Earthjustice during his more-than-25 years with the organization. A lifelong resident of Berkeley, CA, he is most passionate about Earthjustice's maiden issue: wilderness preservation.