Showing a profound disregard for the people of New Zealand, the Government has allowed only five days for the public to make submissions on the Government’s climate denying law to restart oil and gas exploration.

The Crown Minerals Amendment Bill was only introduced into Parliament on Tuesday, September 24. Today, the chair of the Economic Development Select Committee decided the closing date for public submissions is Tuesday night October 1st. The Bill aims to restart offshore oil and gas exploration and weaken the requirement for oil companies to pay for the clean-up after they finish work.

Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman says, "The Government has already shown complete disregard for climate science in proposing to restart oil and gas exploration.

"The decision to allow only five days for public submissions on the bill, three working days, shows they also have complete disregard for the people of New Zealand who care about climate change.

"Regardless of whether this climate denying bill passes through Parliament, the Government is dreaming if they think oil and gas exploration will restart. The people of New Zealand mobilised in their tens of thousands to end oil and gas exploration and they will again.

"Whatever Chris Luxon might think, the future of Aotearoa is in clean energy not climate destroying fossil fuels."

Over thirty thousand people have signed on to an ‘ open letter of resistance’ to the oil industry published by Greenpeace.

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