Press release - February 4, 2015
Auckland politicians are facing increasing pressure over a controversial deep sea oil drilling vote set to take place in the Town Hall tomorrow.
Councillors are due to decide on Thursday morning whether or not Auckland will back plans to drill for oil off Auckland’s west coast, home to beaches such as Piha and Muriwai.
Since Monday, around 10,000 Greenpeace supporters have contacted all 20 Auckland councillors and the Mayor, asking them to oppose the plans. In total over 200,000 emails on the subject have been sent to Auckland Council since the start of this week.
Last week Christchurch City Council came out against deepsea oil drilling plans off Canterbury.
A computed oil spill model, using industry standard data, has shown that a deepsea blowout off Auckland’s west coast could see oil washing up on some of the region’s favourite beaches and harbours.
Greenpeace are hoping that around 100 people will be outside the Town Hall as the councillors arrive tomorrow morning for the vote, which takes place during the first council meeting to be broadcast live online.
Greenpeace campaigner Steve Abel said: “We Aucklanders love our beaches and we love swimming in our seas. We’re sure that our councillors are no different, and that’s why we’re pretty confident that they’ll do the right thing tomorrow morning and oppose these oil plans.
“A blowout off our coast could wreck the seas we fish in, and the beaches our kids play on. And it could have a devastating effect on our economy too.
“Christchurch Council has shown that they’re willing to take a stand to protect their economy and their beaches. Let’s hope Auckland councillors can do the same.”
Auckland Council is due to submit the decision to the relevant government agency, New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZPAM) on Monday. NZPAM is currently asking all local authorities and iwi for their views on oil drilling.