The New Zealand government pays for pretty much all of the initial seismic testing and spent $26.4 million on seismic surveys of frontier offshore basins between 2004 and 2010. That’s our taxes paying for private enterprise.
With one of the lowest royalty schemes in the world, funding the initial exploration ourselves and giving huge tax exemptions so that oil companies are effectively paying no taxes at all, is it really worthwhile for New Zealand to increase our oil and gas exploration? It certainly isn’t the huge windfall National is trying to make it out to be.
When you consider that very few jobs are created for New Zealander's, and that there are environmental consequences and costs associated, there is no reason to support National's mining and drilling expansionism. It simply does not make good economic or environmental sense.
When you consider that very few jobs are created for New Zealander's, and that there are environmental consequences and costs associated, there is no reason to support National's mining and drilling expansionism. It simply does not make good economic or environmental sense.
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| Source: International Petroleum Taxation report (PDF), prepared for the Independent Petroleum Association of America. |
