Bathurst Resources/Included
The Takitimu colliery in Nightcaps has three to four years to live, which could extend into the early 2030s if permission is granted to the Southland District Council forestry bloc in Ohai. [File Photo]
A showdown over Southland coal mining exploration is expected to begin in court on Monday.
Forest & Bird will be heard before the Supreme Court in Invercargill this week over its request for judicial review of the Southland District Council’s decision to grant access for new coal exploration.
Mining company New Brighton Collieries Ltd was granted exploratory access to the forest block of the Ohai Municipality, which is adjacent to the Takitimu coal mine.
Forest & Bird’s accuses the municipality of not sufficiently taking into account the consequences of climate change, the impact that climate change will have on the neighborhood, including on future generations, and that the public was excluded from the decision-making process.
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Bathurst CEO Richard Tacon said in 2021 that the current mine has an expected life of another five years, and the expansion could extend that to 2030.
In 2021, Southland District Mayor Gary Tong said the decision to grant access to the exploration was a majority decision by councilors, and he stood by it.
The council was very aware of the concerns of people in New Zealand and around the world about climate change, he said at the time.
The lawsuit begins Monday with Forest & Bird as plaintiff and Southland District Council and New Brighton Collieries Limited as first and second defendants.