Dunedin members of Climate Liberation Aotearoa protested at the Otago Museum reserve yesterday in support of ongoing action to protect the Denniston Plateau from the expansion of the Stockton coal mine, north of Westport. Spokesman Bruce Mahalski said not only was Bathurst Resources — the operator of the mine — trying to turn one of New Zealand’s most ecologically and geologically unique places into an open cast coal mine, it was slashing down old-growth native forests in the process. Yesterday at noon, protesters helped another fellow protester climb a tree and sit in it at the reserve.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 08, 2026 18:08 UTC