After more than 50 years as a Westpac customer, Welcome Bay resident Mary Rose is closing her account in protest of the bank investing in fossil fuel.
About 10 people gathered outside Westpac branch in Papamoa this morning to close their accounts.
Mary Rose from Welcome Bay.
They join the more than 160 people around New Zealand doing the same thing.
The Coal Action Network Aotearoa and 350 Aotearoa have called on Westpac to stop financing Bathurst Resources, the company that plans to mine the Denniston Plateau for coal.
Mary Rose has been a Westpac customer for over 50 years and says she is deeply concerned about the increasing signs of climate change and the effects of fossil fuels on global warming.
'On the one hand, I was delighted to learn of Westpac's award as a global sustainability leader. That's my bank. I now learn that Westpac is financing Bathurst Resources, enabling the development of a huge open cast mine in a pristine wilderness. It is time for me to leave.
'I want a bank that invests in a future safe from global warming, and not in fossil fuels.”
According to the latest IPCC report released this month, the impacts of climate change will leave nobody untouched. Coal is a major contributor to climate change.
The movement for institutions such as banks to divest from fossil fuel investment is growing.
The European Investment Bank and The World Bank are planning to stop investment in new coal projects.
'Banks are beginning to be accountable to our future,” says Mary.
'What a great opportunity for Westpac to do the same.”
People going into Westpac to close their accounts.
Keep coal in the hole. A woman write a message on the pavement.
10 comments
Stupid
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:08 | By Rik
People protesting that Westpac give finance to A mining company. Well I will give a bet that most banks give finance to a mine of some sort. So they are not achieving anything with this protest. I guess they have to start putting their money in their mattresses to make sure does not aid a mining company.
some inconvenient questions for Mary
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:32 | By Annalist
Were any fossil fuels (oil) used in getting to the protest? Do any of the protesters ever use fossil fuels. Is any of their clothing or food produced or transported using fossil fuels? Any heating for their houses, even electricity could come from fossil fuels? I mean, we wouldn't want hypocrisy now would we?
Good on you!
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:47 | By pilgrim
Well done to Mary and others for acting on their convictions. We need to start changing how we generate our electricity. There are options. Shame on Westpac.
But wait, there's more
Posted on 12-04-2014 13:00 | By nerak
I see a pair of specs on Mary's face, now what goes into the making of them? And what about household cleaners, cosmetics, and that includes moisturisers..... the list goes on.
Hypocrisy indeed
Posted on 12-04-2014 14:31 | By mutley
I recognise one of those protestors and that person has driven an 80km round trip to be there.
We don't need it
Posted on 12-04-2014 19:04 | By pilgrim
Let me get this straight, just because someone sometimes drives a car, and wears glasses they therefore must support the extraction of coal from conservation land ranked among the 50 most ecologically significant sites in NZ, as determined by DOC. Protests like this will help shift power generation to cleaner alternatives and I'm sure Westpac is very interested in how many customers and goodwill it loses.
Id
Posted on 12-04-2014 19:45 | By Capt_Kaveman
rather burn coal than diesel
Pilgrim
Posted on 13-04-2014 00:04 | By mutley
This protest is against a provincial branch of a bank that finances a legal business venture that has been approved by independent review. No matter how carbon neutral or sustainable these protestors claim to be they all expect,as of right, services and goods that are simply damaging to the environment in some way or another - as various commenters have pointed out. So what gives them the right to criticise Westpac when after all it is not a direct participant in the whole mining business ? Power generation from coal will hopefully become unnecessary as demand reduces with increasingly efficient use. But in the meantime who is prepared to go without power if the coal fired power is stopped ?
We do need it, for now
Posted on 13-04-2014 08:53 | By nerak
Currently, there would appear to be no readily/easily accessible alternatives which the world is ready to embrace. Alternatives will come, will happen, but until then we have to manage with current resources, as best we can. Sadly, I don't think the ‘more than 160 people around New Zealand' who protested yesterday will have achieved nearly enough to have any good effect in the fight to stop coal extraction in the near future. And banks have plenty of customer churn. Quite simply, we need coal right now, one day, hopefully, we may be able to live without it. www.worldcoal.org, ‘Steel is an essential material for modern life. The manufacture of steels delivers the goods and services that our societies need - healthcare, telecommunications, improved agricultural practices, better transport networks, clean water and access to reliable and affordable energy. Nuclear power, anyone? Bathhurst is doing it's best to accomodate.
Purity of Protesters
Posted on 17-04-2014 06:39 | By gsouthon
It seems that many people expect that people protesting about anything need to have absolutely no association with what they are protesting about. That would eliminate virtually all protesters. The point here is that our whole society is steeped in the consumption of fossil fuels which are degrading our environment, and we need to move away from that. It is the extent of the use that is the issue. And banks do differ substantially in their support of fossil fuel investment. There is an international movement for disinvestment from fossil fuel industries that is getting stronger.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.