the con then the salt

So key has ruled out changes to the Crown Mineral Act saying that he doesn't believe mandatory consultation with iwi before giving out licences is necessary, he says that "consultation on oil exploration work in the Raukumara Basin may have happened late, but it did take place." It happened after the licence was given - in what way is that consultation? - it isn't, not even close.

The legal advice to the government regarding how to stop the the activists stopping Petrobras is to be kept secret - to be expected really, when you look at the confused positions they are taking

NZCity

There are also conflicting views on exactly which laws are being used by police against anti-oil protestors off the East Coast. Late last week police said it was the Maritime Transport Act that was being used, with safety warnings being issued to provide safety zones to oil company Petrobras' survey vessels. However that's at odds with what the Prime Minister said at his post-cabinet press conference. John Key indicated a different statute, the Continental Shelf Act, is being applied.

Are they going to make it up as they go along or worse, make it up after the fact? Not looking good so far.

Meanwhile the people are making their presence felt

RadioNZ

Hundreds of people throughout New Zealand have turned out to protest against oil exploration off East Cape. The protests on Wednesday included delivering Prime Minister John Key an oil cake and were held from Auckland to Dunedin.

Awesome! The flotilla has put out to sea again and Te Whanau a Apanui is lodging a complaint with the UN. This is really the way to go - multiple fronts - keep the pressure on - find the weak spots - get people involved - get visibility - and keep the focus on. It is the one year anniversary of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. We will not forget the environmental devastation that greed causes and we will not forget the long battle that Te Whanau a Apanui has been fighting for their rights.

We are going to win this battle make no mistake about that - we are going to win!