The Government is pushing ahead to reverse Aotearoa's oil and gas exploration ban, calling the previous Government's policy a "publicity stunt".
Resources Minister Shane Jones made the announcement on Sunday in a statement, saying the proposal to remove the ban on petroleum exploration beyond onshore Taranaki was part of a suite of proposed amendments to the Crown Minerals Act.
He said it would deal with the energy security challenges posed by rapidly declining natural gas reserves.
"Natural gas is critical to keeping our lights on and our economy running, especially during peak electricity demand and when generation dips because of more intermittent sources like wind, solar and hydro," Minister Jones said.
"When the exploration ban was introduced by the previous government in 2018, it not only halted the exploration needed to identify new sources, but it also shrank investment in further development of our known gas fields which sustain our current levels of use.
"Without this investment, we are now in a situation where our annual natural gas production is expected to peak this year and undergo a sustained decline, meaning we have a security of supply issue barrelling towards us."
Coalition partner ACT's Energy and Resources spokesperson Simon Court doubled down on the move.
"Labour's oil and gas ban wasn't environmental policy, it was a publicity stunt. ACT welcomes today's announcement from the ACT-National coalition agreement to repeal the ban on offshore exploration," he said in a statement.
"A high-wage economy depends on affordable and reliable energy. Under the last Government, almost eight percent of households could not afford to keep their houses warm. The Electricity Networks Association has forecast households will be paying twice as much for electricity in five years. In other words, Labour's 'nuclear-free moment' cost Kiwis big time."
Court said that New Zealand's natural gas reserves dropped below 10 years' supply for the first time since the 1970s last year.
"Reversing the ban will lead to increased access to natural gases, more energy security for New Zealanders and less reliance on importing other energy sources amid volatile international markets," he said.
"Taking full advantage of the resources at our disposal will allow us to get electricity prices under control, ease the cost-of-living crisis for the families who are struggling most, and grow the economy with international investment."
Energy Resources Aotearoa chief executive John Carnegie too welcomed Sunday's announcement, saying the proposed changes provide a positive pathway to ensuring all Kiwis have access to reliable, affordable home-grown energy that they need.
"New Zealand faces an energy shortage which threatens our electricity system and the competitiveness of our exporters. We now urgently need to attract further investment in exploration and production to keep the lights on, our houses warm and business humming," he said.
'Profit before people and planet'
However, the announcement's also copping backlash.
Labour's energy spokesperson Megan Woods said the Government is taking New Zealand backwards.
"This government is being cruel to future generations, this will take decades to undo - if the damage can be undone at all," she said.
"This is a manufactured crisis. We know there are reliable and cost-effective energy sources available to New Zealand that can be used without destroying the country.
"Climate change is the number one issue facing New Zealand, and Minister Jones is hell bent on ignoring options of energy that are future-proofed and up to global standards."
Meanwhile, Greenpeace dismissed the plans as "a pipe dream".
"Shane Jones is dreaming. The oil exploration industry won't risk coming back to Aotearoa because they know that it's not worth coming all this way to fail again," Greenpeace Aotearoa spokesperson Niamh O’Flynn said.
"For nearly a decade under the Key Government, together with iwi and hapū the length of Aotearoa, we fought tirelessly to push oil company after oil company out of the country and we succeeded. Oil and gas won't win in Aotearoa."
Kiwis turned out in thousands on Saturday to protest against Government policies. Many were seen holding signs against mining.
"Yesterday's protest showed the coalition Government that they face a massive backlash from across the political spectrum and are now faced with a no-win situation," O'Flynn said.
"They must either ignore the will of the people and risk being a one-term Government or they must stop their reckless attacks on nature, and throw the fast track bill in the bin... This movement will only get stronger because the vast majority of New Zealanders do not want nature destroyed for profit."
It also comes after the Green Party last year launched a petition urging the new coalition Government to stop its plan to restart offshore oil and gas exploration.
"The Government is tipping oil and gas onto the climate crisis fire, lining the pockets of fossil fuel companies, while everyone else will pick up the bill," Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said in a statement on Sunday.
"Today's announcement is the latest episode of this Government putting profit before people and planet. Iwi Māori and community have mobilised against fossil fuel companies before and won. And we'll do it again."
Swarbrick said Aotearoa could have a more sustainable and efficient economy by prioritising clean energy that works with the environment, not against it.
"New Zealanders care about each other and the planet we live on. It's that simple," she said.
"Renewable energy provides us with a pathway to the sustainable future we know we need in order to curb the impacts of climate change.
"The science is clear that fossil fuels must stay in the ground to limit global warming within 1.5 degrees of warming. This Government's actions are anti-science and show a flagrant disregard for international climate commitments which could lead to huge costs down the line."
Responding to Swarbrick's concerns, Jones told Newshub New Zealand First was "not planet worshippers" but rather "pragmatic".
"These changes are pragmatic and they boost the resilience of the energy system and they'll keep the lights on.
"Now Chloe [Swabrick] and her purity can either have gas or Indonesian coal - you can't have fairytale wishlists."
When the ban was introduced in 2018, Jones stood alongside then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Climate Minister James Shaw to announce the changes.
Speaking at a press conference at the time, Jones said: "We must be prepared to stand up and lead the transition, when New Zealand Governments sign up to international obligations you can't sign up to those obligations without owning the responsibility for managing the change that comes home to roost."
Speaking to Newshub on Sunday, Jones called it the "worst decision" in his political career.
"I've never had a juvenile, amateurish approach to politics and sadly that was amateur hour."
He added that he was now in possession of greater facts.
Jones said rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand's petroleum sector would require more than removing the ban.
The Coalition Government is proposing further changes, which has been agreed by Cabinet.
"Some of our current settings are a barrier to attracting investment in exploration and production because they are overly costly and onerous on industry. Some obligations lack necessary flexibility, and compliance obligations are uncertain and unclear," Jones said.
“As well as removing the ban, we are proposing changes to the way petroleum exploration applications are tendered and allocated, aligning the petroleum decommissioning regime with international best practice, and improving regulatory efficiency.
"Our job as the Government is to provide the right policy settings to enable the sector to get to work, and that's exactly what we are aiming to achieve through these amendments."
Jones said petroleum and minerals sectors contributed $1.9 billion to GDP in 2020-21 and $236 million in Crown revenue in 2022-23.
In 2023 mining employed around 6000 people, the majority of which are based in regional communities, he added.
"I want a considered discussion about how we use our natural resources to improve the security and affordability of energy and resources supplies, stimulate regional economic development opportunities, and increase New Zealand's self-sufficiency to protect against volatile international markets."
The Crown Minerals Amendment Bill will be introduced to Parliament in the second half of 2024.
