28,000 say No to the Fiordland Monorail

Wellington, 18th March 2014

Many more people hate the idea of a monorail through the Snowdon Forest to Te Anau Downs than just the 28,000 who signed the paper and online petitions against it, says Federated Mountain Clubs President, Robin McNeill, speaking on behalf of his 17,000 members.

“The petition being presented to Clutha-Southland MP and Minister of Finance Bill English today by Save Fiordland and FMC sends a very, very strong message”, Mr McNeill said. “This is a lot of people saying No! Politicians who ignore that strength of public sentiment do so at their peril”.

“If Bob Robertson really wants to make a useful contribution to New Zealand’s economy, as he claims, he would build his monorail between Britomart and Mangere Airport, not in a special part of a World Heritage Area”.

As well as undertaking its own advocacy, FMC has donated money to Save Fiordland and has underwritten $14,000 of legal costs should a judicial review be necessary.

For more information:

Robin McNeill

president@fmc.org.nz

(021) 516 366