i love my greens

Well done to the greens for supporting the rights of the indigenous people of this land. They have kept the pressure on gerry brownlee and he has nowhere to hide. A great sadness that the maori party are almost silent on this issue of drilling for oil and gas without the proper environmental protection and with out consulting maori.

The greens care.

such as Brownlee thinks he knows best for East Coast

"Monday, 28 June 2010, 3:27 pm Press Release: Green Party

“Digging a hole on land requires public consultation, but offshore oil drilling is pretty much at the whim of the Minister”, Dr Kennedy Graham, Green Party Energy Spokesperson said.

The public have been denied a say in whether Petrobras can drill an exploratory oil well in the Raukumara Basin. Beaches across the Bay of Plenty and East Coast were set alight by peaceful protesters yesterday, who are calling on the Government for proper consultation.

“Having failed to make a case for expanded mining in our National Parks, the Minister is using his powers under the Crown Minerals Act to bypass any significant consultation with local iwi or the general public”, Dr Graham said.

“The Minister is convinced he knows what’s best for the local people and instead of asking them, he’s telling them".

and Maori put ‘on hold’ while Brownlee ignores claims

"Wednesday, 7 July 2010, 3:16 pm Press Release: Green Party

A Crown Minerals official told the Waitangi Tribunal’s Management of the Petroleum Resource Inquiry in April that Te Aupouri had formally asserted its rights over the Reinga Block area, calling for a halt to the process. The official also testified that Te Aupouri was sent a ‘holding response’ letter from Crown Minerals while the Minister considered the issue. However, no formal response to Te Aupouri was ever sent and the Reinga Block offer formally opened in January of this year, despite their claim.

“The Minister is trying to hide behind the Continental Shelf Act, claiming that ownership of petroleum and the EEZ is vested in the Crown, but his Ministry has testified otherwise and has acknowledged Te Aupouri’s assertion to the Waitangi Tribunal.”

Crown Minerals confirmed to the Tribunal that the Crown does not own the petroleum in the EEZ and is obliged to investigate to see if there are customary rights extant when those are raised; that it is an obligation under both international law and under the Treaty of Waitangi.

“The Waitangi Tribunal is aware, Crown Minerals is aware, but the Minister doesn’t seem to care,” David Clendon, the Green Party Maori Affairs Spokesperson said."

and Brownlee ignores aboriginal title

"Tuesday, 6 July 2010, 4:20 pm Press Release: Green Party

“All offshore oil exploration permits should be suspended until clear title to the resource has been established beyond the 12 nautical mile limit,” David Clendon, the Green Party Maori Affairs Spokesperson said today.

“I am disturbed to learn that Crown Minerals is aware of aboriginal title issues but that Minister Brownlee is proceeding with permit offers as if it doesn’t matter.

A Crown Minerals official told the Waitangi Tribunal’s Management of the Petroleum Resource Inquiry in April that he was aware of issues with aboriginal title. It is not clear whether aboriginal title outside the 12 nautical mile limit has ever been formally extinguished by the Crown."

That is all really good stuff. There are so many reasons to oppose this madness and the greens are leading the way with continued pressure on brownlee. He is the weak link and he should be placed under the microscpopic, because he just hasn't got it and he knows it, and by his foolishness their pack of cards shall fall - that's my hope anyway :)