Greenpeace calls on Chris Hipkins to take a courageous stand against seabed mining

Greenpeace is calling on the leader of the opposition, Chris Hipkins, to take a public stand and pledge that seabed mining will never happen under a Labour-led government. A petition to the Labour Party leader launched this week has already gained more than 2200 signatures.

Greenpeace spokesperson Juressa Lee says: “The Luxon government seems intent on waging war on nature – but Governments come and go, and they won’t be in control forever. That’s why we’re calling on Chris Hipkins to promise that any seabed mining consents granted under the Luxon government will be revoked by Labour if it gets elected.

“Despite failing again and again to win approval for its seabed mining project, wannabe miners Trans-Tasman Resources have applied to the Environmental Protection Authority for permission to mine the South Taranaki Bight under the Luxon government’s Fast Track process.

“That’s why we’re launching a new call on the leader of the opposition, Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins, to take a stand and ensure this destructive industry never gets off the ground in Aotearoa.”

For more than ten years, Trans-Tasman Resources has suffered defeat after defeat in the courts and faced opposition from Greenpeace and the Taranaki community, including iwi, commercial and recreational fishers and surfers.

Juressa Lee says: “Yet now, like a zombie, TTR is rising from the dead by taking advantage of the Fast Track Approvals Act to bypass environmental protections.

“That’s why it’s urgent the opposition leader Chris Hipkins takes a stand against seabed mining the Taranaki Bight.

“Chris Hipkins will also be in tune with the weight of public opinion in Aotearoa. Nearly 54,000 people signed the last Greenpeace petition to ban seabed mining.”

Trans-Tasman Resources is planning to extract 50 million tonnes of iron sand from the South Taranaki Bight every year for 35 years and dump 45 million tonnes a year back into the ocean.

Seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight would damage rich ecosystems and threaten precious marine life such as the pygmy blue whale, Māui and Hector’s dolphins and kororā.