Climate activists pretended to die in front of Christchurch city councillors last week, in opposition to the planned Tarras airport. 

Christchurch Airport announced in July that it had bought 750 hectares of land close to the Tarras centre and intended to build an airport there to support the Queenstown tourism sector. It was expected to be operational within five to fifteen years, and would cost hundreds of millions to build.

At a city council meeting last Thursday, four groups opposed the airport, questioning why it was on the cards when the council - and the New Zealand government - had declared a climate emergency.

Tarras resident Chris Goddard, representing local community group Sustainable Tarras, said the council had four delegations that went to see it on Thursday. One was the Tarras Community, one was Extinction Rebellion (who did the lying down), one was School Children against Climate Change, and the last was Dr Chris Horn, who was a tourism specialist.

"Part of the meeting was to draft a letter of expectation outlining how the council expected Christchurch Airport to behave.

“What we asked the council to do was tell the airport to share their thinking, so we could say to the community what's being planned and therefore have a much more informed conversation," he said.

The community was either against the airport entirely or wanted more information, which the airport would not provide, he said.

Christchurch Airport's Tarras project director Michael Singleton said the company was openly sharing information with the community and would continue to do so as it moved through the design phase.

He said climate change played a major role in the company's decision-making and there would likely be more sustainable aviation options in the 2030s.

A spokesman for Extinction Rebellion group, David Goldsmith, said it was hard to believe such a facility was proposed during a climate crisis.

"No amount of sustainability greenwashing can hide the fact that increased flight capacity will mean increased emissions," he said.

“We urge you to be explicit in your Letter of Expectation to CCHL, which you are voting on today. Please instruct Christchurch International Airport Limited that they must not expand or build new airports when we are living in a climate and ecological crisis,” Goldsmith said.

Goddard said the four councillors who were also on the board of the council's holding company, Mayor Lianne Dalziel, Andrew Turner, Sara Templeton and James Gough, had a "very powerful role,” and urged them to take his message to the leadership at Christchurch Airport.

The proposed airport had already faced pushback from some locals in Tarras and Queenstown mayor Jim Boult.

Read edition 1004 of the Wānaka Sun here.