Oil industry urges against rushing law
New Zealand’s oil industry is urging the Government not to rush through a law change which the prime minister says is being passed quickly to allow new oil exploration permits to be offered.
On Monday the environment select committee issued its report on the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Bill, with the Government majority of the committee recommending only minor changes to the text.
The legislation would give effect to the Government’s April 12 announcement that it will cease offering new offshore oil exploration permits. Permits will be offered in Taranaki for three more years, but may not be continued beyond that.
The legislation is due to go through the committee stages tomorrow and is expected to have its third and final reading next week, after a truncated public submission and select committee process.
MPs refused a request to hold hearings in New Plymouth, the home of the New Zealand industry and submitters who did
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appear were minutes.
On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the reason for the short public submission was in order to pass the legislation to enable the Government to run the block offer 2018 process, in which exploration permits in onshore Taranaki will be offered to the industry.
‘‘This is now a process we’re going through in order to allow the block offer 2018 to go ahead. That’s something, obviously, that we want to make sure that we progressed this calendar year.’’
A spokesman for Energy Minister Megan Woods has confirmed that even under the Government’s timetable, block offer 2018 will in fact be undertaken some time in 2019.
Ardern did not once mention the ban on offshore permits in her press conference.
‘‘We are giving certainty to those who currently hold permits and those who would be seeking an onshore block offer that we will honour the commitments cut off after 15 around those permits,’’ Ardern said, dismissing claims that there may be a lack of interest given uncertainty created by the decision.
‘‘Actually, what we are looking at here is giving greater certainty, rather than year on year, around the onshore offers, than they otherwise would have,’’ she said.
During the select committee process, the Government faced warnings that the uncertainty created by the decision was behind a fall in business confidence and had made New Zealand a riskier place to invest in the eyes of both overseas and local investors.
Cameron Madgwick, chief executive of oil and gas industry body Pepanz urged the Government not to rush the legislation, something he had written to the select committee on and raised during his submission.
‘‘It’s very much our preference to have a good process rather than a fast process, and we would prefer to have that over a block offer this year,’’ Madgwick said.
‘‘The Government can be under no illusion that it’s for the industry’s benefit that the block offer needs to be held in 2018.’’ A new cube art sculpture in Ha¯wera won’t just get people talking but hopefully get them writing as well.
The 2.4m x 1.2m cube, covered in chalkboard paint, is located in the town square and is part of a global art project called Before I Die which people not only get the chance to write on but also contemplate mortality and share their personal aspirations in public.
The cube is an initiative between Ha¯wera Bizlink, who presented the idea to the South Taranaki District Council’s developments team which was keen to support it as a shared project.
Bizlink co-ordinator Nikki Watson said more than 4000 walls have been created in 71 different countries and in 35 languages.
‘‘It’s been done globally and we wondered why Ha¯ wera couldn’t do the same,’’ she said. ‘‘We just wanted to do something different.’’
The cube is part of the Arts Fest South Taranaki that features a number of exhibitions, live performances, pop-up exhibitions and workshops running across South Taranaki until November 4.
Bizlink co-ordinator Cara Hayes said some people may feel uneasy about expressing their ideas or thoughts in public. ‘‘Some may find it confronting. But it will hopefully make people think about what they want to do,’’ she said.
‘‘There’s been some really good responses in the past from people in other cities and towns where they’ve run this. Some can be really challenging.’’ Hayes said.
Once the festival was completed Hayes said the cube will then make its way around the region. ‘‘We want to take it out to other towns including Pa¯ tea, Eltham, Manaia and Opunake,’’ she said.
After that Hayes said plans are in place for it to be used at other events in the community and somehow tie in with the arts fest again next year.