Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Bridges Has Got to be Sacked, say Greenpeace

Bridges Has Got to be Sacked, say Greenpeace

Energy and resources minister Simon Bridges should be sacked, Greenpeace said this afternoon.

The call comes after it was recently revealed that Bridges, who also holds the associate climate change portfolio, was unaware that he had allowed swathes of Department of Conservation land to be opened up to the oil and gas industry.

Last week, Bridges announced that another 40 million hectares of sea and one million hectares of land would be available for the oil and gas industry. Part of this included a 200,000 hectare DoC park.

Nathan Argent, Greenpeace’s chief policy advisor, said:

“Simon Bridges has got to be sacked. He’s utterly, eye-wateringly incompetent.

“He’s handed over millions of hectares of New Zealand, including pristine forest, to the oil and gas industry. He either knew that this included hundreds of thousands of hectares of DOC land, or he didn’t know. Either way, that is incompetent.

“In his rush to do the bidding of the oil industry, he’s ignoring our own, cutting-edge clean energy industry, which adds yet another layer of incompetency. The clean energy sector could provide tens of thousands of jobs, and give our economy a multi-billion dollar boost. The oil industry cannot come close to matching these figures.

“The only benefit to Bridges staying as energy minister is that he is an increasing liability for the very oil industry that he desperately wants to please.

“If the Prime Minister won’t sack him, then it’s all too clear that this government favours incompetency and the oil industry over innovation, prosperity and own clean energy companies.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“For the sake of our country, our future prosperity, our seas and our forests, just go, Simon.”

Earlier this year, the government made exploratory oil and gas drilling a ‘non-notified discretionary activity’, which means that the public will not be consulted before oil companies start drilling. Last year, Bridges was criticised for introducing new offences which criminalised aspects of peaceful protests at sea.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.