Press release - February 15, 2016
As of last month, there was not a single petroleum company searching for oil in New Zealand using exploratory drilling.
Greenpeace climate campaigner, Simon Boxer, says the news is “extraordinary” and sure to be concerning for the John Key-led Government, which has continued to push an oil agenda here, despite evidence that its programme is failing.
“Plummeting oil prices have meant that everyone is in a hurry to pull out of the New Zealand market, because despite the hundreds of millions of dollars that has been pumped in by oil companies and by our Government using taxpayer money, no deep sea oil has ever been found,” he says.
“No new jobs have been created – in fact many have lost their jobs – and we’ve seen zero economic benefit from it. The revelation that there is currently no exploratory oil drilling in New Zealand at all, anywhere, is extraordinary – it’s a nail in the coffin of Key’s obsession with oil.”
It’s also another sign that the Prime Minister is out of touch with the rest of the world when it comes to climate change and investing in a clean energy future, says Boxer. Unlike the volatile oil market, renewable energy prices are stable and jobs and profit in the sector are growing exponentially.
“We’re getting left behind. There’s a new clean economy just around the corner, with new jobs and new prosperity. New Zealand is already rich with natural renewable resources – we’re just not investing in them. Let’s hope this oil failure is enough to knock some sense into our so-called leaders.”
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