Kiwi Spotted In Midland Park

hmmm, yeah, i know it's easy to critisise stuff without having been involved at all but yeah, just a couple of thoughts:
This action seems to focus on 'Solid Energy miners' and kiwi. The birds were "dragged away and moved by" the miners it says (and that's illustrated in the photos).

I don't agree with the representation of the 'evil' miners. I thought the fight is with the government/solid energy (which is state-owned so pretty much the same)...? Well, at least that's what previous actions and material produced by the Save Happy Valley Coalition suggests. And now, all of a sudden, it is the miners fault for the suffering of kiwi... huh?

I guess that's the weakness of this campaign - not being able to come up with a campaign that focuses not only on the environment but also on workers rights. I thought there were some good ideas; like investing money into other industries instead of coal mining.

But theses seem to go under completely and the focus is now on kiwi and snails. You might get financial support from middle-class greenies from Auckland and Wellington that way... but community resistance in the West Coast? I can't see it happen like that.

me - Some fair points in your comment.

To clarify a bit further - The miners were not working of their own free will - they were ordered around by Solid Energy CEO Don Elder on a megaphone. During the action, 1 of the miners (myself) went to complain to Don that I didn't want to do it, and was threatened with the loss of my job, so I found I had no choice but to continue moving the kiwi.

"But theses seem to go under completely and the focus is now on kiwi and snails"

The campaign has a number of foci (wow, always wanted to use that word). Saving endangered species (such as Great spotted kiwi and Powelliphanta Patrickensis) is one; raising awareness about climate change another; promoting environmentally sustainable development on the West Coast is a third.

It can be pretty hard (and sometimes impossible) to have multiple foci during any one action - rest assured that the Save Happy Valley Coalition is not solely about kiwi and snails, and I'm sure that you'll find our actions and publications in the future will show that.

Hope you feel a bit better after reading this :)

TV1 and the Dominion Post were there. Nothing in the Dom Post this morning though...

TV1 said they were gonna use it as part of a story on the wider campaign, so not sure when it'll air.

Awesome :)