Stop the Summit March
Despite a very early start, there was a fantastic turnout to our action at the opening of the Petroleum summit! As Simon Bridges prepared to announce to industry executives that another 434,000 of land and ocean will be put up to bid for oil and gas exploration, 150 odd people gathered to march to Westpac Stadium where the conference was being held.
Supporters from Auckland, Dunedin and Nelson came up to join us, and with an army of penguins, bicycles, banners and the tunes of the Brass Razoo Solidarity Band we staged a sit in at the entrance, blocking the drive and successfully stalling arrival of attendees. After moving aside, we continued with a loud and vibrant ‘welcome’ as hundreds of attendees arrived and registered. We were powerful, visually impressive and got some great positive media coverage too.
A few of us returned in the afternoon, and at the closing of the conference, ensuring a strong presence of opposition throughout. Together we made it very clear that expansion of this industry in Aotearoa will be met with resistance every step of the way! We will not allow our climate, or our oceans and coastline to be compromised.
A massive thank you to everyone who came, traveled to be there or helped with banners and costumes. It was a hugely successful morning and we hope that it will be only the first of many great actions together!
New Zealand Herald:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11126427
TV3 News Item:
Newstalk ZB: