9 October 2011

Greens want Govt. to protect shore before oil arrives

The Green Party is today calling on the Government to put in place precautionary oil booms around sensitive eco-systems on the Bay of Plenty coastline before any oil arrives.

“The Government can lessen the risk of large amounts of oil coming onshore by putting oil booms across sensitive estuaries and wetlands,” Green Party marine spokesperson, Gareth Hughes said.

“It is good to finally see an elevated sense of urgency from the Government and Maritime New Zealand in response to the Rena’s grounding, but we’re still behind when it comes to coastal protection, should a catastrophic spill occur.

“It is going to be much easier to keep oil out of wetland mudflats than to have to clean it out afterwards.

Maritime New Zealand is currently investigating using booms at Matakana Island and Maketu Estuary, however there is no clarity on actual deployment nor whether it will include Little Waihi Harbour.

“Both the Maketu and Little Waihi harbours are important recovering wetlands and should therefore be provided with oil boom protection immediately,” said Mr Hughes.

“The urgency is real: Metservice now have a strong wind advisory in place for the Bay of Plenty with winds turning Northeasterly and gusting up to 40 knots on Monday.

“Given the urgency, the Government needs to be transparent about which areas will receive protection empowering local communities and iwi with the information they need to plan accordingly.”

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