NEW ZEALAND MAORI OPPOSITION TO STATOIL TO BE DISCUSSED AT UN

Seismic testing, oil drilling and indigenous rights are at the forefront of the agenda for New Zealand Maori as they head to New York today for the United Nations Ocean Conference.

Indigenous oil opposition group Te Ikaroa will be sending a delegation including academics, environmentalists, activists, and traditional ocean voyagers. The journey follows on from a successful intervention placed before the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues last month, which highlighted the way in which the seismic testing violates indigenous rights through the disruption of local marine ecosystems

"Our subsistence traditions depend on healthy marine ecosystems and there is now a significant body of science that upholds our concerns about the damage of seismic testing" says Tina Ngata, campaign spokesperson. "For this reason and more, over 80 indigenous communities have voiced their objection to the seismic testing being carried out by Statoil and Chevron along our coastline. Our petition to the Norwegian government has over 23 thousand signatures from New Zealanders who join us in objection and we will be seeking to present this to Norwegian representatives while there".

The conference runs from Monday 5th - Friday 9th of June and will cover a range of topics under the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Healthy Oceans. Tina Ngata says that one particular area of focus will be the discussions around the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"The Convention predates much of the progress that we've made internationally around indigenous rights and has yet to be brought into alignment with important documents like the United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We will be lobbying heavily for an amendment to allow for indigenous oversight of the Convention and its implementation. The Pacific is indigenous territory - we have made families on the Ocean, fed from it, cared for it and voyaged it for countless generations now and that needs to be recognised and allowed for".

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TE IKAROA BACKGROUND

Te Ikaroa is a collective of indigenous communities from Eastern seaboard of the North Island of New Zealand covering the East Cape and Hawkes Bay regions opposed to deep sea oil exploration in their oceans.

TIMELINE

2015, NZ Government issues oil exploration permits off the coastline of Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington to oil companies Statoil and Chevron.

November 2016, the World’s largest seismic testing vessel The Amazon Warrior begins oil exploration off the eastern seaboard of New Zealand on behalf of Statoil and Chevron.

November 2016, Indigenous communities of Te Ikaroa Rāwhiti meet to discuss the severe implications of oil exploration activity in their ocean waters.

13 January 2017, captain of traditional Māori waka Te Matau a Māui, Reuben Tīpoki joins a Greenpeace flotilla to confront the Amazon Warrior and oppose their activity.

3 March 2017, traditional Māori waka Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti captained by renowned navigator, Jack Thatcher delivers a message to the Amazon Warrior to “stop your work and depart immediately”.

5 April 2017, traditional Māori waka Te Matau a Māui sails to confront the Amazon Warrior on behalf of the indigenous peoples of Te Ikaroa-Rāwhiti.

28 April 2017, Te Ikaroa delegates present statement to the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues opposing the deep sea oil activity of Statoil and Chevron and requesting co-governance of oceans with Indigenous communities.

12 May 2017, Benny Wenda leader of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua meets Te Ikaroa delegates and discusses the severe environmental and social impact of resource exploitation and extraction by international interests from West Papua and New Zealand.

15 May 2017, Standing Rock and First Nations descendants led by Dr Dawn Martin-Hill, Chair of McMaster University Hamilton Ontario meet Te Ikaroa descendants and crew of traditional Māori Waka, Te Matau a Māui in New Zealand to show their support to protect their waters against oil exploitation.

6 June 2017 Te Ikaroa delegates attend the United Nations Oceans Conference to advocate for shared governance of the world’s oceans with indigenous communities and will present the petition of 80 indigenous communities of the Te Ikaroa region and over 23,000 persons opposing Norwegian Government oil activity in Te Ikaroa.

ENDS

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