Drilling down for clarity
Transition and transitioning. You’re going to hear those words a great deal over the next few years in relation to this country’s oil and gas industry. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has used them extensively over the past couple of days to express not only the nature of the industry in New Zealand and around the world, but also her Government’s approach to the sector.
It’s worth noting what the word means. To transition is to move from one point to another, whether that be a road, a process, a philosophy. It can also suggest a lack of stability, a state of flux, and even weakness.
This Labour-led Government has had to transition from nine years of putting forward and promising change to having the power to make it happen, and the potentially painful consequences that come with it.
As part of a nascent governing coalition it is frequently having to transition between competing agendas and ideologies. Sometimes that particular transition can be lost in translation. Sometimes it can create a lack of clarity.
Ardern wants her red and green-hued supporters to know she is serious about climate change and the link to fossil fuels.
No doubt that was part of the motivation when she chose to personally accept a Greenpeace petition calling for an end to oil exploration, and told those attending that the Government was ‘‘actively considering’’ the idea.
But in doing so she appeared to transition from her own party’s policy of considering future exploration and drilling case by case, to the Government leaving all options on the table, including an end to all exploration. Which is quite another thing altogether.
Later attempts to focus more on the current permit process were meant to clarify the Government’s stance and possibly step back from the earlier statements, but they only muddied the water further.
Ardern now risks anger and confusion on all sides. It’s hard to fathom that this Government, for the sake of mere political expediency, would be willing to turn its back on an industry that provides hundreds of millions of dollars a year in royalties, employs thousands of taxpayers in high-paid jobs and supports numerous other industries.
Also, the end may be nigh for oil but New Zealand needs the gas that comes with it to help the transition to more renewable energy sources.
Yes, we are blessed with access to hydro, geothermal, solar and wind power, but gas remains a key component in getting us through periods of peak demand.
The industry itself knows it is in transition. Exploration in this country is on the decline and many overseas companies have either cut back or pulled out altogether.
That transition will be best for all parties involved, including the environment, if there is clarity from the Government about how it can support the sector during that period. Not this weak, vague language designed to provide power for tricky political allegiances, rather than people in their homes.
Ardern risks anger and confusion on all sides.