Mana Slams Proposed Environment Law

"First the Maori Party voted in 'their' Marine and Coastal Area Bill to let
foreigners exploit our coastal marine resources" said Hone Harawira, MANA
leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau.

"Now they're lining up with National and
Act to pass another act to make it even easier for the rape and pillage
brigade."

Mr Harawira, who split with the Maori Party over its support for the MCA
Bill, says The Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental
Effects) Bill which got its first reading in parliament tomorrow (Tuesday)
is totally inadequate.

Harawira also slammed the refusal of the National / Maori Party / Act
government to even discuss the bill with Maori before putting it into the
house.

"Maori ownership rights were wiped out under the Marine and Coastal
Area Bill, and now this bill will take away the right of consultation for
all New Zealanders"

Harawira was also scathing of the Maori Party's belated support for Te
Whanau a Apanui over the Petrobras scandal and expected them to be the same
with this bill as well,

"And that's a huge worry because this new Economic
Zone bill doesn't protect the environment at all, and in fact it will make
deep sea oil drilling even easier"

Harawira said every MP who had this country's interests at heart needed to
speak out, because this Economic Zone Bill would make our shoreline highly
vulnerable to the kind of disaster seen in the Gulf of Mexico, "and after
the Christchurch earthquake the last thing we need is an economic and
environmental catastrophe"

"Now is not the time for the 'sell everything' kind of legislation like this
one is" said Harawira. "In fact, with 270,000 of our children living in
poverty, we should be focusing more on the needs of our people than the
profits of foreign corporates."

ENDS

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