Gisborne protests against oil drilling

Several hundred people took to eastern Bay of Plenty beaches yesterday to protest against oil exploration off East Cape.

The Government has granted an exploration permit to Brazilian company Petrobras, allowing it to search for oil in the Raukumara Basin off East Cape. The company has been awarded a five-year petroleum exploration permit covering 12,330 sq/km.

About 60 protesters were at Kaiti Beach in Gisborne yesterday, where fires were lit and slogans, including "No to Petrobras", were written in the sand, Radio New Zealand reported.

Protest organiser Manu Caddie said East Coast residents were concerned about the environmental risks of the oil drilling operation. Petrobras had a shameful environmental record, he said.

Mr Caddie said the protesters were concerned a disaster such as the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could happen here.

- NZPA