Internet Party to Stop High-Risk Resource Extraction

The Internet Party wants a moratorium on fracking, the dumping of oil wastes, deep-sea and undersea extraction and other risky energy and mining industry practices.

In its final environment policy released today – its first full, digitally-driven democratic policy – the Internet Party also vows to restore the absolute right of Kiwis to protest at sea against deep-sea oil exploration.

“National has been pushing New Zealand towards a greater dependence on the extractive industries at a time when climate change and land and water protection demand the opposite,” said Internet Party leader Laila Harré.

“We will place moratoria on the hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells, and deep-sea drilling. The direct safety risks of these industries have not been adequately investigated or managed. Their impact on climate change would also have to be countered before any resumption of these activities would be considered. In the case of deep sea drilling we do not see any likelihood that benefits to New Zealand will be shown to outweigh the risks.”

The cost of an accident to New Zealand’s marine and coastal environment would be simply too high.

“We won’t risk a Deepwater Horizon disaster on our shores,” said Ms Harré, referring to the massive marine oil spill that devastated the Gulf of Mexico in the United States in 2010.

The Internet Party will also repeal the National Government’s law change to ban protests against deep sea oil exploration. Dubbed the “Anardarko Amendment”, after the American oil and gas explorer prospecting in New Zealand waters, the law criminalises the right of protest at sea.

“The law flies in the face of the very democratic rights we hold dear,” said Ms Harré. “We will immediately repeal what is an unjust act that bans lawful protest.”

The full Internet Party environment policy takes a strong line on all environmental issues in New Zealand. Its climate change position backs the Greens’ proposed carbon tax as the starting point for policy negotiations post-election. However, the Internet Party is not convinced that all revenue raised should be spread across all households.

“Compensating low income households for the average $2 a week extra cost of a carbon tax should be the priority, but a tax bonus for high income households would be a much lower priority for us than investing in renewables and environmental enhancements.”

The Internet Party’s environment policy has been through a full online development process incorporating internal and external expertise.

“More than 300 people took a leading role in expanding and improving our draft environment policy platform. We’ve harnessed collective knowledge and experience to set what is a new standard for digital democracy.”

The expanded environment policy adds to the proposals already announced in the Internet Party’s draft policy. This includes the goal of 100 per cent of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2025, becoming a world leader in green technologies, developing smart cities and homes and investing in green data centres.

The full environment policy can be found HERE.

ENDS

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