Costly fight ahead to prohibit oil and gas exploration

CHANGE: HBRC has been progressing a proposed prohibition on oil and gas exploration since late last year. PHOTO/FILE

Winning the battle to prohibit oil and gas activities will need significant investment from Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

This was the message at a council regional planning committee yesterday, on their proposed plan change which would prohibit oil and gas exploration activities in certain areas on land, and possibly in the coastal marine area.

The council has brought Opus Planning Consultants on board to help gather evidence, and advice for the plan change, and with iwi and stakeholder consultation.

Yesterday council CE James Palmer said in pursuing the change, the council would have to choose whether their imperative was winning this battle, or signalling its intent to limit oil and gas activities.

Hypothetically, the oil and gas industry could sink a million dollars into opposing the plan change, he said.

If council decided they just wanted to notify a plan change, this would mean limited resources were put into the fight, and council would have to "therefore accept that you may be outgunned by the oil and gas sector".

"Alternatively you might decide that getting an oil and gas prohibition in place and winning the argument is your imperative then you are prepared to invest significantly. That is the choice that lies ahead."

The council would not know if there had been enough investment, or evidence gathered until the end of the process.

However as it would be a "revolving beast", there were options for council, including having areas of banned activity, rather than a blanket prohibition.

The wider the prohibition zones, "the more it sets a precedent for the oil and gas sector nationally, and the more willing they may be to invest heavily in their defence".

In light of this, Central Hawke's Bay Councillor Debbie Hewitt said she did not think the prohibition was "a good move for our region".

"What I'm sensing with a slight warning from our chief executive is that we're going to be picking a huge fight with the oil and gas sector with the word 'prohibition' here.

"I just can't support the idea that we're going to be going in with a lot of money and an uncertain outcome".

Some councillors supported a limited ban over a total prohibition.

Chair Rex Graham said the council always knew it was going to "buy a fight" with its proposal.

"The fight is about whether we want to take the risk of drilling for oil and gas... in our aquifer and in the water bodies feeding our aquifer.

"I live on an aquifer, my kids drink the water from an aquifer..why would I as a father, put my kids at risk when there isn't even any reward, there is no reward for us doing this."

Yesterday the committee agreed to support "in principle" a draft plan to engage with stakeholders and iwi, which would be the second stage of the plan change process and would accompany the information from the first stage in developing the plan change options.

This discussion came the day bids closed on the Government's Block Offer 2017 - which made 5569sq km of Hawke's Bay's offshore marine area open for bids for gas and oil exploration activities.

It was hoped the plan change options would be brought back to the committee by the end of the year.