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Cyclists use High Street to protest use of fossil fuels
August 1st, 2011
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Kat Seligman
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About 60 cyclists of all ages cruised down High Street from midday last Saturday in a whistle-blowing, pleasant natured demonstration against the expanding exploration and mining of oil and coal in New Zealand.
The "Ride for Renewables" was a follow-up from last month's 'Hands Across the Sand' demonstration at Motueka Quay, bringing the anti-mining message closer to the heart of Motueka. Riders assembled in their bright coloured clothing at Toad Hall and rode slowly, two abreast to the Motueka Museum (with a brief pause at the Mobil service station), to hear speeches.
For about 10 minutes vehicle traffic was slowed to a crawl, but no-one in cars seemed overly worried by the inconvenienced and many tooted their horns in support.
At the museum, Tanya Corbett led a spoken karakia, and then one of hte ride's organisers, Kat Seligman spoke about the future of fossil fuel mining and use in New Zealand under the current government's policies. "New Zealand is on the verge of a massive mining splurge," she said, pointing out hte huge and growing number of exploration sites for oil and coal that have already been approved.
She reminded the group of the pollution problems that arose from BP's deep-sea exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, and that some of the exploration that New Zealand is encouraging here would be even twice as deep. She also denounced the proposals that Solid Energy would mine low-quality lignite in Southland, with the help of foreign investment and ownership.
Labour MP Damien O'Connor, then spoke to the meeting, wearing his now-trademark "Stop Asset Sales" T-shirt.
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