It would appear that the interest in prospecting for oil and gas in the seas around Aotearoa is somewhat illusory, with little or none shown since the present government has lifted bans on doing so.
It would further appear that this interest is so weak that Energy Reserves Aotearoa recently wrote to the Energy Minister, Simeon Brown, to the effect that exploration would be unlikely in the absence of "government support to help manage the risk".
That this proposition is even being considered by government is beyond alarming.
Resources Minister Shane Jones talks about considering options, indicating "no decisions have been made yet". This language indicates a testing of the water, let’s put it out there and see what happens.
There is, no doubt, a high level of political support, at local level, for this type of activity, given it attracts capital, creates temporary jobs and no doubt significantly benefits those involved at that level.
A toe in the water for Jones may give momentum to government support by way of underwriting risk for would-be prospectors for gas.
But such support is not acceptable, and Jones needs to be reminded that his responsibility is to act in the interests of all New Zealanders.
Sir Rod Carr, retiring chairman of the Climate Change Commission, noted on Q+A recently that the removal of natural gas as an energy source for homes is the highest priority for reducing emissions
As Chloe Swarbrick of the Green Party has said, any support by underwriting gas exploration or otherwise is "deranged", and the very fact that Jones indicates that this request is being considered and that no decisions have been made is, as I have said, alarming, given his scant regard for matters pertaining to protection of our environment or supporting action to limit the cause and impact of global warming.
The evidence is clear — gas production peaked 10 years ago, it is a twilight industry. government attention and support is required elsewhere, certainly not in the support of prospecting for and burning fossil fuels.
Jones is vacillating, Brown, who received the letter appears to have made no comment either way excepting, rather oddly, in reference to the electricity market, that the government was "fuel agnostic" but there would be no government subsidy for any form of energy.
This paints a gloomy picture with regard to the role government has to play in a transition to green, sustainable energy sources needed to carry out the objectives of COP29 which we have signed up for.
This space must be watched very closely. The idiom around the leopard being unable to change its spots comes to mind, and one gets the sense that Jones is more than a little bit interested in helping Energy Resources Aotearoa with its agenda of encouraging exploration for gas off our shores with our money subsidising and/or underwriting the exercise.
— Noel O’Malley is a Balclutha lawyer, past president of the Otago District Law Society, and holds a master’s degree in peace and conflict studies from the University of Otago.
