Solid Energy on the Offensive
A dozen people may face court action for trespass after a private security company videoed campers in Happy Valley and on the outskirts of Stockton Mine at the weekend. Police set up a roadblock near Denniston and took the names of campers to match the video taken by guards from Wellington-based Gibson Security. A cop told us that those identified as trespassers on Solid Energy land will be summonsed.
The drama began around 7pm as we (35 campers led by Save Happy Valley group) were finishing dinner. Without any warning, three people wearing uniforms with dayglow jackets emerged from the thick scrub beside us. A fourth was not in uniform.
One of the uniformed people then told us they were there to check on our safety and security and would like to speak to us. Another began videoing everyone. Quickly it was becoming clear they were from a security firm and we asked them to stop videoing. The video man took no notice and a couple of our people got out cameras and began photographing them.
Their spokesman told us we had every right to camp where we were but then revealed the true purpose of their visit – to issue us with “pre-emptive” trespass notices. He asked us to give our names. We refused. I did however give my name, since I am well known to Solid Energy. One of the guards then filled out a form headed "Warning To Stay Off Property, Trespass Act 1980 Section 4". As well as the Stockton Mine, I’m banned from the Ngakawau coal handling plant, Solid Energy's Westport office and the corporate office in Christchurch. The duration is 2 years. The guard tried to hand it to me, I refused to take it, so he put it on the ground beside me. This was all videoed.
Next morning about 7am we had another visit, this time by three guards in black uniforms – rather like those of the armed offenders squad. Again they greeted us by saying they were at the camp to check on our safety and security. In answer to our questions the leader said they were also from Gibson Security and he had worked in a similar capacity on Lord of The Rings. He said the fourth (un-uniformed) man of the previous night's visit was a local man who is training to be a guard and had guided them to our camp.
After doing some work around the camp we took everyone up the bare plateau towards the Stockton Mine. I should explain here that almost all the campers had never been to Happy Valley or seen the moonscape of Stockton before. So the weekend was very much a familiarisation trip. It would be wrong to call all the campers activists – two were under-15s accompanied by parents.
As we approached the mine over a wide strip of conservation land (ie DOC) we could see what looked like big orange markers along the haul road leading to the Mt Fred opencast. These turned out to be security guards wearing dayglow jackets. As we neared the big sediment dam, four guards lined up on the dam wall opposite us. At this stage someone noticed we were being videoed, so I pulled back, not wanting to get arrested (we were right at the limit of the DOC land). A
group continued forward, and put up our banner for some photos. They later told me they were warned they were now trespassing, and the police had been called.
We returned to camp with three guards, or maybe Solid Energy people, following us for a 100m or so.
As it was drizzling and the weather forecast was rain we packed up and headed out. We expected cops at the road end and had planned for some people to bypass them, but they were waiting for us with a roadblock at Burnetts Face, nearer to Denniston. Half a dozen cops went to each car and collected names and addresses. We were also photographed. A cop told me the police photos would be matched with those from Stockton and those who had trespassed would be summonsed. Others were told slightly different stories. This was all over very quickly and we drove off the plateau.
Apart from all this carry-on, we had a very successful and enjoyable weekend with lots of new people seeing at first hand the beauty of Happy Valley and the raped-over landscape and polluted waterways that is Stockton Mine.
