Barricades have been put in place and police are on the scene at the Dunedin Town Hall where dozens of protesters are trying to prevent delegates from attending a minerals conference.
Delegates have begun arriving for the NZ Minerals Forum in Dunedin. Protesters have organised a sit in and are trying to prevent them from coming in, yelling 'no coal, no oil, keep the fossils in the soil'. There are police officers at the entrances. @rnz_news @radionz pic.twitter.com/qrKFQV624G
— Tess Brunton (@TessBrunton489) May 27, 2019
Groups including Environmental Justice Otepoti and the Stop the Minerals Forum Coalition are protesting outside the New Zealand Minerals Forum.
Protesters at the Stop the Minerals Forum in Dunedin are chanting, playing instruments, and using their bodies to prevent delegates from entering Dunedin Town Hall. @rnz_news @radionz pic.twitter.com/kY5YfIehFS
— Tess Brunton (@TessBrunton489) May 27, 2019
Some delegates have been trying to push past the protestors, while the Forum has sent messages to attendees asking them not to engage with them.
Firefighters and police officers have pushed through protesters with bolt cutters to try and cut chains placed on doors at the Dunedin Town Hall as people from the Stop the Minerals Forum Coalition chant outside. @NZMorningReport @rnz_news pic.twitter.com/IPGGWafafN
— Tess Brunton (@TessBrunton489) May 27, 2019
RNZ reporter Tess Brunton is in Dunedin and joins Susie Ferguson with an update.
It's two hour since the Minerals Forum was meant to start, but protesters continue to prevent many delegates from entering. Some delegates arrived about 6am to avoid the planned protest. @rnz_news @NZMorningReport pic.twitter.com/wZ5LQmzgF7
— Tess Brunton (@TessBrunton489) May 27, 2019
Police are pushing through protesters to get delegates into the Minerals Forum in Dunedin. @NZMorningReport @rnz pic.twitter.com/a3QZCIWBVT
— Tess Brunton (@TessBrunton489) May 27, 2019
A bean bag zone with fresh food has been set up beneath the Robert Burns statue in Dunedin, so protesters can take a break at the Minerals Forum. On the menu - hash browns, sandwiches and apples. pic.twitter.com/eESRFAIdZ3
— Tess Brunton (@TessBrunton489) May 27, 2019
