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A bill banning all seabed mining - and which the Government said would have cancelled all existing oil and gas permits as well - was heavily defeated in Parliament today after a heated debate.
The sponsor of the bill, Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, gave an angry speech to conclude the debate, in which she accused MPs opposing it as amateurs and out of their depth.
“I feel insulted that I’ve had to sit here and listen to you all pretend you know what’s going on here. You don’t. It has been insulting to our people that we’ve had to watch these amateurs sit here and talk about things they have no understanding of…our intelligence as Taranaki has been insulted today.”
In the heat of the moment, she then cast three votes against the bill, instead of in favour, and then quickly corrected it to two votes in favour.
The Green Party’s 10 MPs and Meka Whaitiri who defected from Labour last week to stand for the Māori Party, supported the bill.
Labour, National and Act opposed it although Labour has asked the environment select committee to conduct an inquiry into seabed mining.
Ngarewa-Packer was supported in the public gallery by a large contingent from South Taranaki who interjected so frequently on National and Labour MPs that the acting speaker, Poto Williams, threatened to have them removed.
Green MP Eugenie Sage was applauded for supporting the bill.
The Prohibition on Seabed Mining Legislation Amendment Bill would have done three things:
- Ban seabed mining consents within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and coastal waters governed by the RMA.
- Prohibit the ability to apply for exploration rights for seabed mining under the Crown Minerals Act.
- Retrospectively withdraw existing seabed mining consents and exploration rights under the EEZ Act and the Crown Minerals Act.
For 12 years, the South Taranaki iwi of Ngati Ruanui and Ngati Rauru led local opposition to a permit by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for Trans-Tasman Resources to conduct seabed mining of ironsands off the South Taranaki Bight. This permit was overturned in three successive wins on appeal to the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
Ngarewa-Packer said the 35-year permit would have dumped unwanted sludge back into the sea “smothering the surrounding area with a sediment film which would spread all the way down from Taranaki to Wellington, affecting marine life, biodiversity and Māori.”
“The Government does not need an inquiry to understand that this industry would trash our moana.”
She said it was hypocritical of the Government to support a conditional moratorium on seabed mining in international waters but would not do the same for its own domestic waters.
It was creating a huge amount of space to bring about further applications and there was no need to delay a ban for an inquiry.
“The Government has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop this dangerous industry before it starts.”
“So Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāti Rauru in our unapologetic Māori movement, will not stop until seabed mining is banned in Aotearoa once and for all.”
Environment Minister David Parker said it wasn't the Government's responsibility to ensure a member's bill was in good shape. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Environment Minister and Attorney-General David Parker said he did not dismiss her concerns and the potential environmental effects of seabed mining. But the reference to retrospectively withdrawing existing seabed mining consent under the Crown Minerals Act included gas.
That would have shut down the Maui platform and threatened the security of supply of electricity in the short to medium term.
As New Zealand transitioned from fossil fuels to renewable energy it still needed gas, particularly in a dry year.
He said it was not up to the Government to ensure that a member’s bill was in good shape to be considered.
“If there was a minor part of the bill that was problematic, yes, that could be fixed at select committee.
“But the very intention of this bill as explained as explained in the general policy statement is to retrospectively withdraw existing seabed mining consents and exploration rights under the EEZ and Crown Minerals Act…without compensation and from the point of view of the Labour Party, that would be a bad thing to do.”
In her concluding remarks, Ngarewa-Packer appeared to suggest that it had not been her intention to retrospectively cancel existing oil and gas permits and that that could have been sorted out at the select committee stage.
One National MP, Stuart Smith, said the bill was the sort of policy that led National Party leader Christopher Luxon to rule out working with the Māori Party in Government.
Ngarewa-Packer said they should remember that the day after the election – “You remember that on October the 15th because you dare ring me.”
“We come here for passion for our people. We don’t come here to be apathetic and lethargic. Where is your spark and your spike? Where is your kaha for your people?”
Kiwis against Seabed Mining spokeswoman Cindy Baxter said in a statement that the Government had “deliberately misinterpreted” the bill to suggest it could cut off gas supplies and that the language could have been tightened at select committee.
She said Trans-Tasman Resources had until May 19 to lodge a re-application for seabed mining with the EPA.
