Protesters turn off Ecan water supply
Five people were arrested after the water supply to 500 staff at Environment Canterbury’s headquarters was shut off.
About a dozen protesters sat chained over two toby boxes that control access to the building’s water mains, blocking access for more than three hours yesterday.
At midday, 40 protesters marched to the St Asaph St office to take the water they believe the regional council is misusing.
‘‘Ecan has actively facilitated the expansion of industrial farming practices that are turning our rivers toxic, cutting down trees, killing soil life and emitting dangerous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere,’’ they chanted. ‘‘They have bypassed democratic process, allowing our water to be bottled and sold.’’
About 4pm, about 10 police officers arrived to remove and arrest those blocking one of the access points.
Senior Sergeant Paul Manhire said five people were arrested for ‘‘obstruction-type’’ offences.
‘‘The building couldn’t function. There were no toilets or drinking water for the staff and that’d been going on since just after 1 o’clock,’’ he said.
‘‘We asked them to move so the water could be turned back on. They refused.’’
The protest was organised by a new group named Extinction Rebellion, which argues political urgency over the world’s climate crisis has now reached New Zealand. ‘‘Ecan, E coli, same bulls...,’’ one sign read.
The protest was important for Sophie, a border collie, as well.
‘‘She wants to swim in the Ashley River without getting sick,’’ her owner said.
With no immediate action taken by Ecan, Extinction Rebellion spokesman Rowan Brooks entered the building to deliver by hand a declaration to Ecan chief executive Bill Bayfield. He was not in.
About 1.30pm two Ecan staff members approached the protesters and asked them to turn the water back on.
They said the protesters could make an appointment to see Bayfield in the new year. The protesters politely refused.
‘‘This is direct democracy,’’ Brooks told them.
Brooks, along with fellow activist Gen de Spa, was one of the five arrested. Manhire said all those arrested would not be held for long.
‘‘The main thing was to put the water back on so that Ecan can function ... these people have got a right to protest and we recognise that.’’
‘‘This is direct democracy.’’ Extinction Rebellion spokesman Rowan Brooks