New Zealand’s Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters, who is standing in for Chris Luxon, responded to accusations from the Green Party over backtracking on old statements made regarding the ban on oil and gas exploration that now appear contra-positional.
The new National-led coalition government has pledged to overturn the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration, putting them at odds with the Green Party who hold firm to the 2018 policy that aimed to shift New Zealand towards a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 and a secondary goal, by 2035, of achieving 100 percent renewable electricity.
New Zealand’s oilfields, located predominantly in the Taranki region, have produced petroleum since 1865 when the Alpha well was dug near the Moturoa seeps. There are 37 active extraction permits in the country.
In 2018, the previous Labour-led government, helmed by former Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, brought into law the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Act which banned (save for an exemption granted in a small area of Taranaki) new exploration permits within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
“There will be no further offshore oil and gas exploration permits granted,” said Ms. Ardern at the time.
The National Party’s “Rebuilding the Economy” policy will open up opportunities for permits to again be issued, with the rationale being to reduce reliance on imported coal from Indonesia. About 726,000 metric tons were imported in 2022.
During the pre-election, the National Party stated that it supported the move towards a net-zero economy, but took issue with the blanket banning of mining permits brought in by the previous government.
On Dec. 12, in Parliament, Green Party leader Marama Davidson asked Mr. Peters if he still supported the quotes he made in 2018 concerning the ban, to which Mr. Peters said it “makes sense, and introducing the ban was a change that New Zealanders wanted.”
Mr. Peters added that he stood fast with the government’s intentions, saying it had “its settings on the future.”
Greens Co-leader James Shaw disagreed, telling Mr. Peters; “The vast majority of New Zealanders actually want our government to do more on climate change, not less.”
“The simple fact is you cannot stop the climate crisis by burning more fossil fuels,” Mr. Shaw said.
Mr. Peters’ retort to the Greens questioning was to acknowledge the comments he made and suggest he has changed tack.
“With regard to evidence and information at the time of those statements, yes. But, of course, when new information or evidence emerges we acknowledge that and don’t just carry on like a bigoted, lefty shill,” he said.
“Examine the time and the place when that statement was made. There was a ban on at the time—does that member .... not remember that?”
Ms. Davidson then said the decision to rescind the policy was contradictory given Climate Minister Simon Watts’ comments at COP-28 that the tabled draft that was aimed at “reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner” did not “align with current global commitment.”
“Right now, they are wrestling with that very issue,” Mr. Peters said.
The government’s new stance on exploration was addressed on a website post by Greenpeace Aotearoa.
Spokesperson Amanda Larsson said, “Our new government’s first official foray on an international stage will result in yet more raised eyebrows as their policy to bring back offshore oil and gas exploration collides with global calls for a fossil fuel phase-out.”
