The Rena disaster goes to show New Zealand
does not have the capacity to respond to even the most minor of oil spills. New Zealand
does not have the policy mechanisms or the capacity to deal with an actual spill and the
consequences thereof - not even a minor spill. Hekia Parata should take
note. If she approves oil extraction in the Raukumara this could end up
happening to her moana and her whenua in Ngati Porou, but to the power of x1000.
The response from the authorities has been typical New Zealand -
casual as anything. The hope for the best approach. The authorities have sat
around twiddling their thumbs waiting for someone to tell them what to do, but
that someone, read John Key, has taken the same hands off approach he takes to
dealing with his Cabinet and his Governments policy. The Prime Minister needed
to provide the impetus in the immediate wake of the disaster because the
backwater hicks at Maritime NZ had no idea how bad this could get nor any power
to do anything substantial. A state of emergency should be declared immediately
and the resources we do have should be deployed now. Or even better the
resources should have been deployed straight after the fact. It blows my mind
that the Government declined the offer from Lancer Industries to pump oil from
the ship. WTF.
The effect the disaster will have on the moana and the
whenua will be devastating. Not only will the oil affect the health of the
moana and whenua, but the toxic, and ineffective may I add, dispersant the
authorities have used will also damage the moana and whenua. The dispersant used
is four times more toxic than the oil itself. The disaster is going to severely
affect customary and recreational activities. Most worryingly the disaster is
going to affect the spiritual health of the Iwi of Tauranga Moana. When the
land is healthy the people are healthy, when the land weeps the people weep.
The spill is going to devastate kaimoana as well as the spiritual guardians of
Tauranga Moana. I am not sure what the spiritual guardians, kaitiaki etc, of Tauranga Moana are, but I know some Iwi hold, for example, the Stingray as a prominent
spiritual guardian.
Local Iwi should be given a more prominent role in
determining the response, who should be held to account and how the
consequences will be dealt with. Naturally, given we have a National Government
at the helm, Maori have been sidelined. Only today have Maori been given a place
on the response team.
If New
Zealand doesn’t have the capacity to respond
to a minor oil spill from a container ship, how the hell will we deal with a
spill, either minor or major, from an oil rig? This is the deathblow against
the Government’s dream of oil extraction. Hekia cannot now, as a woman immersed
in her culture and well aware of the effects of a disaster on Papatuanuku, push
ahead in her role as Minister for Energy and Resources. There will be immense
pressure coming from her Iwi Ngati Porou and her whanaunga in Te Whanau a
Apanui, but there will also be pressure coming from Cabinet. It’s going to be
interesting to see whose interests she prioritises, I’m leaning towards
Cabinet.
Of course, not only are Maori furious, but so is the rest of
New Zealand – especially the people of the Bay of Plenty who have had their
backyard ruined, meaning their summer is down the drain too. Last night
Minister for the Environment Nick Smith got an ear bashing, and rightly so,
from angry Tauranga residents. And what about compensation for the
businesspeople who have lost their livelihoods? John Key is deflecting the
issue in typical fashion; he doesn’t want to front the hard issues.
Before I end this post, here’s something to chew on:
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| Our ineffective PM |
