Denniston Plateau (File Oct 2022) – Image: Wikimedia Commons
New Zealand’s leading environmental organization, Forest & Bird, is presenting a petition at Parliament in Wellington today calling for the Denniston Plateau to be permanently protected as a scientific reserve, just as a Fast-track application to mine the area is expected.
Forest & Bird Denniston campaign lead Scott Burnett says the petition represents a clear public mandate for stronger protection.
“Tomorrow we’re taking the voices of more than 30,000 New Zealanders to Parliament with a simple message: Denniston is too precious to mine.
“This is an extraordinary landscape that cannot be replaced once it’s destroyed. The Denniston Plateau is home to unique ecosystems, critically endangered Powelliphanta snails, unusual geckos, and roroa great spotted kiwi.
“This year’s New Zealand Bug of the Year, the day-flying Avatar moth, would be likely driven to extinction by mining.”
The petition will be delivered by Forest & Bird alongside climate and environmental groups including 350 Aotearoa, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, and Climate Liberation Aotearoa.
The proposed Buller Plateaux Continuation Project would expand mining across the Denniston Plateau and Mt Frederick/Deep Stream area, excavating around 1,300 hectares and digging up around 20 million tonnes of coal over the next 25 years.
“There is a cruel irony in doubling down on coal expansion while communities around New Zealand, including on the West Coast, face growing risks from climate change,” says Mr Burnett.
“At a time of climate and biodiversity crisis, destroying a pristine ecosystem to dig up one of the world’s most polluting fossil fuels fails the most basic tests of environmental responsibility.”
Forest & Bird has opposed expanding coal mining on the wider Buller Plateau on the South Island of New Zealand since new mining proposals first emerged in 2003.
“Given Forest & Bird’s more than two decades promoting protection for these unique ecosystems, we fully expect to be invited by the Expert Panel to comment – a project of this scale and significance deserves robust scrutiny,” says Mr Burnett.
Under the Fast-track Approvals Act, public consultation would not be required – despite much of the proposal occurring on public conservation land.
“New Zealanders have recently shown how overwhelming support is for the protection of public conservation land. Wild places like Denniston belong to all of us – and should be safeguarded for future generations.”
About the Denniston Plateau
- Denniston is one of the parcels of public conservation land that underwent a recent reclassification process. In April 2026, Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society filed judicial review proceedings challenging many of the Minister of Conservation’s decisions, including leaving Denniston’s high ecological value conservation land as stewardship land.
- Forest & Bird had submitted that Denniston’s extraordinary ecological values meant it should be reclassified as a scientific reserve under the Reserves Act, which would protect it from mining.
NAN/Forest&Bird 04-08-26
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