“As we stare down the barrel of a climate emergency, our Government seems to think it’s just fine to let a foreign-owned company extend its coal mine to let our dirty dairy industry carry on burning the stuff,” spokeswoman Cindy Baxter said.
“Whatever happened to our ‘nuclear free moment’ – seems it’s business as usual.”
Bathurst, majority owned by Singaporeans, already owns a coal mine at neighbouring Coalgate. The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) has granted it permission to buy 31.5 hectares of grazing land for $680,000, two kilometres away from its existing mine.

The ASX-listed company intends to install mining infrastructure on the land and eventually hopes to mine the land should resource consent be granted. This will extend the life of the mine from 2022 to 2035.
Under new regulations from 2017, any purchase of farmland larger than 5ha has to receive the consent of the OIO.
In its decision, the OIO said Bathurst intended to retain existing jobs at the mine from 2022 to 2035, and create some new jobs associated with it.
“It also intends to introduce capital for development purposes, and mitigate some environmental risks by implementing some protection measures for the endangered Canterbury mudfish habitat in the Bush Gully Stream that runs through the land.”
The OIO said coal from the mine would supply dairy factories in Canterbury, “which will promote economic interests in the region”.
If the coal did not come from Coalgate, it would have to be transported from greater distances.
Baxter said the coal would power Fonterra’s Darfield plant (65,000 tonnes a year), and Clandeboye. Synlait is converting to gas and electricity but is continuing to use coal in the interim.
Activists have recently called on the All Blacks to dump principal sponsor AIG over a controversial coal-mining project in Queensland.