Heatley must heed energy safety concerns

Energy Minister Phil Heatley needs to address people’s concerns about the safety of oil and gas exploration before accelerating deep sea drilling in New Zealand waters, Labour’s Energy spokesperson Moana Mackey says.

“The refusal of the Minister to acknowledge that anything could ever go wrong, especially in relation to deep sea drilling, is deeply concerning. It appears that the National party have learnt nothing from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or the Rena grounding.

“The Rena disaster has shown Kiwis first-hand the devastation that oil spills can cause to the marine and surrounding environment,” Moana Mackey said.

“Numerous concerns have been raised since the grounding, yet the Government has failed to take those on board and respond. Clearly the Minister has no intention of doing so either.

“Oil and gas exploration has been and will continue to be a big part of our economy. To say it shouldn’t be, and that we should just continue to import it from elsewhere, is unrealistic.

“But the Government needs to have some clear bottom lines to ensure environmental protection is paramount, and that the benefits of any activity clearly outweigh the risks.

“We also want to see local jobs created. While the Minister pointed to Taranaki as an example of this Petrobas – which holds the permit for exploration off the East Coast – has said there will be no local jobs created.

“Most of all, however, we need to ensure that the regulatory regime we have in place to consent and monitor this activity is robust and effective.

“The Exclusive Economic Zone legislation currently before the Local Government and Environment Select Committee is woefully inadequate. Labour will be proposing changes to ensure it meets our international obligations and adequately mitigates the risks of any activity carried out in our Exclusive Economic Zone.

“With robust processes in place for consenting and monitoring activity, and clear bottom lines around environmental protection and emergency response preparedness and liability, New Zealander's could have confidence that any exploration that goes ahead will be done safely and that the benefits outweigh the risks.

“Unfortunately the National Government is not prepared to give the public any assurance that their concerns have been listened to,” Moana Mackey said.