By Bob McNeil
Fires burned on beaches along the East Coast today in a protest against oil exploration by Brazilian company Petrobras.
The fires were lit from Hicks Bay to Gisborne, where there is widespread concern about the environmental risks of a proposed oil-drilling operation.
The people of the East Coast today illustrated clearly they they don't want drilling for oil off their coastline.
Both young and old were part of the demonstration, and are well aware of what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico, where thousands of barrels of crude oil have been spilling into the ocean every day since a deepwater rig exploded in April.
They say there was no consultation with locals about the exploration plans of Petrobras.
"We weren't consulted," says Huti Watson. "I guess we feel pretty powerless, but this was one way of showing our solidarity up and down the coast, and we are opposed to it."
The fires had a special, historical significance.
"In the old days they communicated with different areas by lighting their fires, and it sort of ties all the areas together," says Albie Henderson.
Today more modern methods were also used to get the message across.
The protestors were hoping that their demonstration would be noticed not only on the East Coast, but around the world.
Petrobras has a five-year exploratory permit covering more than 12,300 square kilometres of the Raukumara Basin.
But today, the people of the East Coast will probably feel they have won the first battle.
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