“Time is running out. The way things are going, the New Zealand Government is going to give a green light to large mining companies to start taking what they want from the ocean.”
Green Party list MP and spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono’s comments come as the party’s co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw, and spokesperson for Oceans and Fisheries Eugenie Sage have written to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urging the government to support a moratorium on deep sea mining in international waters. The MPs have raised concerns that this approach has the potential to cause significant environmental harm.
The party’s plea comes ahead of New Zealand’s participation in negotiations ahead of the International Seabed Authority to be held later this month. The letter also asks the government to consider the impact deep sea mining will have on Pacific nations. They are mindful that if mining goes ahead, it will occur in the Pacific Ocean.
Tuiono says, “as deep-sea mining projects get underway in the Pacific, the New Zealand Government has its head down trying to negotiate environmental standards that will apply to the mining industry. Research suggests it may not be possible to create standards strong enough to protect the deep-sea environment. The only way to do that, is to stop mining from happening in the first place.”
Tuiono adds, “not only is New Zealand’s position at odds with the latest research, it is also at odds with what Pacific nations are saying they want for their big blue backyard. The Federated States of Micronesia announced earlier this week they would join Fiji, Palau and Samoa who are calling for a moratorium on deep sea mining.”
In 2021 government officials advised Ministers that “our approach to deep sea mining must recognise the mana of each Pacific Island country.” The New Zealand Government needs to stand alongside the Pacific nations calling for a moratorium before it’s too late,” says Tuiono.
