Green Party launches oil spill protection plan

The Green Party today launched its plan to protect the environment from oil spills.

"We want to protect our beautiful coastline by making changes that help prevent oil spill accidents in the first place, and ensure that we have more resources to clean them up when they happen," said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

"The grounding of the cargo ship Rena highlights how vulnerable we are to oil spills.

"If the five day delay in getting oil off the Rena was the best response Maritime New Zealand could mount given the resources at hand, then we need greater resources.

"Our beautiful beaches and unique marine life are essential to our economy, identity, and way of life. We can't become complacent in the protection of our shores. We can learn from the Rena experience and work harder to protect our environment from future oil spills.

"New Zealanders love our natural environment, and want to protect it.

"We will work constructively with any future government to make sure our oceans are protected from oil spills," said Mrs Turei.

From Mount Maunganui Beach in Tauranga, Mrs Turei launched the Green Party's five-part plan to protect New Zealand's marine environment from oil spills:

• Introduce a moratorium on deep sea oil drilling and exploration;
• Set up an independent inquiry into the speed of the Government response to the Rena grounding, maritime regulations, and the capacity of our maritime services to respond to accidents;
• Implement higher standards for coastal shipping that support the use of local crews and ships that know New Zealand waters and hazards;
• Build Maritime New Zealand's oil spill response capability and infrastructure;
• Introduce a stronger legal framework so that when accidents do happen, the New Zealand taxpayer does not have to pay for the clean-up.