KEY POINTS:
Protesters celebrating a year-long occupation of a West Coast valley have vowed to stay as long as it takes to block the creation of a large-scale coalmine.
The Save Happy Valley Coalition claims its presence has forced state-owned Solid Energy to delay setting up its proposed 250ha Cypress opencast mine in the wetlands area 20km northeast of Westport.
But Solid Energy, which has consent to mine but must still get official rights to the land, says the occupation is "not affecting us in any way" and it will remove protesters if required.
"Our only concern is the impact of what they are doing on the area," said spokeswoman Vicki Blyth. "They have opened up a walkway for people to come in and they are introducing domestic animals. We have strict conditions laid down for what we can do."
Solid Energy plans to dig almost 100m into the valley floor to extract five million tonnes of coal. It says this will provide hundreds of jobs and generate about $100 million for the West Coast's economy.
But opponents say the mine will kill off many native species living in the valley, such as the great spotted kiwi.
"We are there to protect [the valley] and it has been successful so far," said coalition spokeswoman Frances Mountier. "In the past 12 months, there has been no sign of Solid Energy moving in. We will maintain the occupation until there is no longer a threat."
Ms Blyth said the protesters did not have the right to be on the land "as far as we are aware" and they had built a "semi-permanent structure" that probably required a consent.
Solid Energy would go ahead with setting up the Cypress mine when it was right for the company and its customers.
"Once we secure access arrangements, we will look to serve trespass notices, as with any other property."
Ms Mountier said security guards from the nearby Stockton mine had regularly been down to the protesters' camp in order to monitor them.
Between three and 10 protesters kept a vigil at the camp of tents and a kitchen built with tarpaulins.
Ms Blyth said the guards had been employed at the Stockton mine to stop the protesters getting into that mine and "injuring themselves or others on the site".
The Green Party said the protesters should be congratulated for their perseverance in protecting "one of New Zealand's rarest alpine wetland habitats".
"The commitment shown by the coalition is awe-inspiring," said the Greens' conservation spokeswoman, Metiria Turei.
"Members of the group have been spied on by private investigators, they've been rained on, faced bitterly cold weather and have been threatened by Solid Energy with the prospect of paying thousands of dollars in court costs."
This, the MP said, was true commitment to caring for New Zealand's fragile environment.
