On Wednesday the 17th of December at 12:40 pm Oil Free Wellington, along with several other groups concerned about environmental justice, will be holding a “Wishing for a fossil fuels free Christmas” party and protest outside the Todd Building on Hunter street. They will also be delivering some Christmas presents.

“We’re gathering outside the Wellington headquarters of Todd Energy, which is one of the largest fossil gas producers in the country, with the message that we are, “wishing for a fossil fuels free Christmas,” says Oil Free Wellington spokesperson Michelle Ducat.

“The oil and gas industries received their Christmas presents early this year with the repeal of the ban on new exploration. But they’ve also been given a decommissioning costs voucher. When major fossil gas fields like Māui run out, the government might now have to pay hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars in order to clean up the mess left by private companies; Like it did for the Tui oil project in 2024. On top of that, they’re receiving a $200 million co-investment offer to drill for more and even talk of spending hundreds of millions subsidizing a fossil gas import terminal.”

“Everyday New Zealanders and businesses are struggling with the cost of gas and electricity. Rather than giving this polluting sunset industry a Christmas present costing hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars, the government should be putting that money into helping companies and households get off gas and into the cheapest form of power there is, solar.”

“We should be building the renewable energy industry in Aotearoa and letting local communities and workers guide their transitions to a sustainable, flourishing and climate friendly society. We should not be underwriting a sunset industry like oil and gas with hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars,” says Michelle.

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