Talking about what "Coasters" think, should do for a living etc. seems patronising. Like anywhere else, "Coasters" are divided by class and other divisions and have a wide range of opinions and aspirations.

The mine isn't in the interest of working class "Coasters", only ruling class ones who use the argument "You've got to fight the greenies who are trying to stop you getting the crumbs we throw at you" with great success.

The class aspect wouldn't change no matter whether people are working in mining, so-called eco-tourism, or competing with Bangladeshi workers in the production of hemp.

The term "coasters" is also used to incite local patriotism by uniting people with little in common. Towns like Fox Glacier, Haast and Franz Josef are actually quite wealthy, being based on tourism and dairying, and aren't particularly hostile to eco-tourism and the like. Locals here tend to mostly suffer from high living costs and housing shortages as local capitalists prefer to make a fast buck by using itinerant labour in the summer rather than investing in infrastructure and services for local workers.

I'd much rather get rid of capitalism than stop a mine, but, being a bit busy this week, I'm happy to support this action in the meantime.

In a vein similar to comments above, here are some stupid comment's from today's Herald (regarding NZ's richest asset-stripper Graeme Hart buying Carter Holt Harvey) that illustrates the total disconnection from reality many people in NZ suffer from:

"South Waikato District Mayor Neil Sinclair, whose territory encompasses Tokoroa and the nearby Kinleith pulp and paper mill, said his community would be hungry to hear of the new owner's intentions.

"This is the big boys doing things - we will have to watch how it settles down," he told the Herald.

But he expressed optimism that, as a New Zealander, Mr Hart would act with the interests of this country's economy in mind."

Yeah, right.