News that just one small exploration permit has been awarded in the latest oil and gas Block Offer shows it’s time for the Government to give up its fossil fuel strategy and embrace clean energy, the Green Party said today.  Previous Block Offers have usually seen 10 or more permits awarded for total areas up to 46,000 sq km, while this year the single permit awarded has an area of just 219 sq km. “With just one local company getting...

Beaches in Wellington, Wairarapa, and the top of the South Island are at less risk of being decimated by an oil spill after Anadarko surrendered its fossil fuel exploration permits in the Pegasus Basin, the Green Party said today. “As we head into summer, people can celebrate that the chance of an oil spill on their favourite beach just got much lower,” Green Party energy and resources spokesperson Gareth Hughes said. “Our beautiful beaches are an iconic part of the...

Time is running out for the Government to decide whether people will get a say on Nova Energy’s proposal to build a large gas-fired power plant in south Waikato with significant impacts on the environment and climate change, the Green Party said today. “The Government should ‘call in’ Nova’s application to build a new gas-fired power plant as a matter of national significance so everyone gets to have a say, because it will affect New Zealand’s commitments under the Paris...

The wheels are falling off the Government’s oil and gas strategy, with news that Norwegian oil company Statoil has given up on exploring for oil in the Reinga Basin off the Northland coast. Statoil’s decision follows Brazilian company Petrobras, which gave up looking for oil in New Zealand in 2012, and Anadarko, which gave up in 2014. Statoil still holds a 50 percent share in an exploration permit off the Wairarapa coast. “National’s plan to turn New Zealand into a...

New Zealand’s smaller hydro and wind electricity generators are being put at risk from changes proposed by the Electricity Authority (EA), while Energy Minister Simon Bridges seems more focused on the static electricity in his office, the Green Party said today. Along with controversial proposed changes to the Transmission Pricing Methodology that would see Auckland and Northland households pay more for power, the EA is also proposing significant changes to the rules around distributed generation. Distributed generation includes everything from...

The Government’s new Block Offer will open up another half a million square kilometres of our oceans to mining and oil drilling, including part of the critically endangered Maui’s dolphin marine sanctuary, the Green Party said today. Approximately 4,000 sq km of the Maui’s dolphin sanctuary – roughly a third of its total area – is up for grabs by oil and mining companies. “Opening up another half a million square kilometres to mining smacks of desperation from a Government...

The Green Party launched a campaign today to stop the proposed construction of a new gas-fired power plant in South Waikato that would increase greenhouse gas emissions, causing climate change. Nova Energy has applied for resource consents to build a gas-burning power plant near Otorohanga. The Green Party is asking Environment Minister Nick Smith to “call in” the application on the grounds that burning more fossil fuels will affect New Zealand’s obligations under the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and then...

The National Government's proposed changes to the law governing seabed mining could make it easier for Trans-Tasman Resources to carry out destructive seabed mining off the South Taranaki coast, the Green Party said today. Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) has re-applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to mine the seabed off the South Taranaki coast for iron ore, despite its previous application being declined by the EPA. “The Government's Resource Legislation Amendment Bill, currently before Parliament, will allow the Minister, rather...

Unfair differences between pre-paid and normal power prices are costing vulnerable families in some parts of New Zealand hundreds of dollars a year, the Green Party said. Analysis of the cheapest normal power prices and the cheapest pre-paid power prices in Wellington shows that pre-paid customers are paying on average $542 more every year. Nationwide, pre-paid customers pay an extra $153 a year on average.* “Too many pre-paid power customers are getting a bad deal,” Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth...

The Green Party is disappointed by the decision to decline consent for Otago’s Blueskin Bay community wind farm project, which shows why Government leadership is needed to help smooth the transition to a more sustainable electricity system. “This is obviously very disappointing for the local community who have worked so hard to get their own wind farm. They should be congratulated for their vision and their work,” Green Party energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes said. “The Blueskin Bay community achieved a...