Guest Columns: Green Party versus NZ First

In the lead up to this year's General Election, we asked the Green Party's Energy and Resources spokesperson Gareth Hughes and NZ First's Energy and Resources Spokesperson Fletcher Tabuteau to outline their views on New Zealand's oil and gas sector. 

We are an incredibly oil dependent country and we need solutions for Kiwis like better public transport, sustainable biofuels and electric cars to help to do more with less oil. Governments, militaries and businesses all around the world are all developing oil reduction plans and in Government the Greens would work with the industry and workers to develop a just transition away from fossil fuels.

We would prohibit deep sea oil drilling (past 200m depth) because of the environmental risks and would not allow fracking to continue, at least until the remaining four of five Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s recommendations were enacted. We would improve regulatory standards for shallow and onshore drilling, remove tax breaks and subsidies and use royalties to invest in a Green Infrastructure Fund.

To avoid dangerous climate change we must develop alternatives to fossil fuels urgently. That’s why the Greens are focused on clean energy opportunities. We have a wealth of low carbon economic development options and we could lead the world in selling clean energy solutions. Clean energy solutions like solar, wind and geothermal energy, as well as electric cars are available, affordable and increasingly desirable. Clean energy is potentially a $20 billion annual economic opportunity, according to PWC, and we know it grows four times as many jobs as fossil fuels. BERL estimated we could employ up to 27,000 Kiwis, around four times the numbers employed in the oil and gas sectors in NZ, simply by using our forestry wood wastes as a sustainable biofuel, helping reduce our $6 billion annual fuel import bill.

This may not be a message the industry wants to hear but we have been consistent and transparent and we are focused on leaving our kids a safe climate and a richer New Zealand focused on the future, not the past.

Review of the South Taranaki District Plan

The outcome of South Taranaki District Council’s review of its District Plan was appealed to the Environment Court by a number of parties. On behalf of its relevant Members, PEPANZ joined those appeals as an interested party and actively participated in six days of Environment Court mediation on those appeals in mid-June in New Plymouth. 

The mediation is likely to be complete around September and it will then be clearer which matters of appeal, if any, will go to an Environment Court hearing.

You can view the appeals to the proposed district plan here.

Election Year event with Colin James at the Snug

We are delighted to invite you to join us for drinks and nibbles with renowned political journalist Colin James in New Plymouth. Please join us from 5.30pm - 8.00pm on Tuesday 5 September 2017 at the Snug Lounge, 124 Devon Street West, New Plymouth.  

This is an invite only event and places are strictly limited. RSVPs to carolyn@pepanz.com

The United Nations Development Programme, International Finance Corporation and IPIECA launched a new joint report: Mapping the oil and gas industry to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Broadly the report highlights how the oil and gas industry links to and can contribute to addressing each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by:

• Integrating into core business operations
• Identifying opportunities for oil and gas companies to collaborate with other stakeholders
• Leveraging experiences and resources to implement each goal.

More on the report here

Offshore decommissioning

Recent changes to the law around decommissioning offshore facilities have introduced the concept of a decommissioning plan.  We were supportive of these changes and are looking forward to working constructively on the development of the detailed regulations around the contents and effect of the decommissioning plans.

We made written and oral submissions to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Bill to seek alignment of the tax treatment for decommissioning to the treatment that applies to similar activities.

This submission will be available on our website soon.

Māori and Pacific Cultural Communications, Diversity & Relationship Building masterclass

Brown Pages is running a masterclass event for those who want to improve relationships, diversity strategies and engagement with Māori and Pacific peoples.

Learn from more than 16 Māori, Pacific and other NZ leaders about:

• Cultural intelligence and business skills for diverse workplaces
• Good practice guidelines for working with tangata whenua and Māori organisations
• Tools for building relationships with New Zealand’s changing Pacific demographics
• The impacts of cultural communications and relationships on productivity and organisational performance
• Attracting Māori and Pacific millennials into the corporate/management sector
• How to conduct a cultural communications audit to identify an organisation’s cultural awareness strengths and weaknesses
• Turning statutory obligations to engage with Māori into positive opportunities
• Leadership styles of Pacific women in traditional and contemporary contexts

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