Today, NewstalkZB reports:
A law change which essentially means the public won't know about where and when seismic testing is taking place and exploratory wells are being drilled. They also won't be allowed a say in any decision making. If that's not muzzling the public, I don't know what is.
This subsequent law change is of course because the government has realised their "Anadarko Amendment" to make protesting at sea illegal will simply be ignored. There are many New Zealander's who are strongly opposed to deep sea oil drilling and will risk prosecution to stand up for what is right.
Instead of listening to the people of New Zealand, the government is trying to win the argument by removing people's access to information. They are trying to remove people's right to peacefully oppose dangerous industries that have proven disastrous to the environment on more occasions than I would like to number.
Yesterday, Stuff reported:
Clearly oil exploration isn't the benign industry that the government is making it out to be. It is a highly dangerous and risky enterprise and therefore something the public should be notified about.
Why isn't this decision going though a parliamentary select committee? By ignoring proper process and trying to limit the public's say on such decisions, the government is once again acting undemocratically. They therefore don't deserve to govern.
PM allays fears over deep sea drilling
The Prime Minister's adamant the public's not going to be muzzled over deep sea drilling projects.
The Government's considering a law change that would make application for offshore exploratory drilling non-notified.
A law change which essentially means the public won't know about where and when seismic testing is taking place and exploratory wells are being drilled. They also won't be allowed a say in any decision making. If that's not muzzling the public, I don't know what is.
But John Key doesn't think that locks people out of having a say on such projects.
"This is at the exploratory stage and if eventually they go to full exploration, then that will go through the normal process with normal consents and public input."
This subsequent law change is of course because the government has realised their "Anadarko Amendment" to make protesting at sea illegal will simply be ignored. There are many New Zealander's who are strongly opposed to deep sea oil drilling and will risk prosecution to stand up for what is right.
Instead of listening to the people of New Zealand, the government is trying to win the argument by removing people's access to information. They are trying to remove people's right to peacefully oppose dangerous industries that have proven disastrous to the environment on more occasions than I would like to number.
Yesterday, Stuff reported:
Environmentalists say the exploration stage is risky with a danger of spills. The Deepwater Horizon disaster took place during drilling a deep exploratory well, killing 11 crewmen and sending millions of barrels of oil gushing into the sea for 87 days.
A study by Scandinavia's largest independent research organisation SINTEF shows more than a third of blowouts take place during exploratory drilling.
Clearly oil exploration isn't the benign industry that the government is making it out to be. It is a highly dangerous and risky enterprise and therefore something the public should be notified about.
Why isn't this decision going though a parliamentary select committee? By ignoring proper process and trying to limit the public's say on such decisions, the government is once again acting undemocratically. They therefore don't deserve to govern.
