Deep sea drilling is not our future

The Green Party is calling on the Government to abandon their failing deep sea drilling plans and to build a clean energy future for New Zealand.

Today, Texan oil giant Anadarko announced it did not find commercially viable oil in the Deepwater Taranaki Basin where it drilled an ultra-deep exploratory well in November 2013.

“The National Government's deep sea drilling plans have so far failed, and it’s time the Government focused on what will actually deliver jobs and regional economic development, like clean energy, green–tech and IT,” said Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes.

“The National Government has been rolling out the red carpet to the oil and gas industry, but rather than picking a winner, it has picked a loser and New Zealanders are worse off for it.

“The Government is playing ‘deep sea oil roulette’, hoping for oil while ignoring other sectors like clean energy where the jobs actually are.

“The Government should look to support industries that, in the long-term, we know will be good for the environment and economy.

“To make sure that New Zealanders have good jobs, the Government should turn around the manufacturing crisis, which has seen 40,000 manufacturing jobs lost since National came to power.

“Pure Advantage, a leading group of New Zealand business people, has identified that New Zealand has a global niche in the development of sustainable geothermal energy.

"We can create a smart, green economy by moving away from risky extractive activities like deep sea oil drilling, and towards renewable energy and clean-tech jobs,” said Mr Hughes.

Mr Hughes also said that today’s hikoi showed that the Government’s plans for deep sea drilling have attracted massive public opposition, and that the Government did not have a public mandate to continue to expand the dangerous industry.

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