$200 Million For Oil And Gas An Affront To The Youth Of Aotearoa
Driven by corporate greed, Jones, McLeod and the current government are quite happy to sacrifice the future of a liveable climate for coming generations for short-term profits for their mates in the oil and gas industry, says Urs Signer, from the community …
'The government's budget announcement to use $200 million of taxpayers money to subsidise the oil and gas industry while we are in the middle of a climate crisis is completely out of touch with the global scientific community's call for drastic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions' says Urs Signer, from the community group Climate Justice Taranaki.
'It is obvious that MPs like Shane Jones and our local New Plymouth MP David McLeod are stuck in the dark ages when it comes to taking urgent action on climate change and have demonstrated once again that they do not understand that there is no economy on a dead planet. For decades, the neoliberal agenda of resource extraction to accumulate more and more wealth for the rich and powerful has driven us into what is now called the sixth mass extinction. Driven by corporate greed, Jones, McLeod and the current government are quite happy to sacrifice the future of a liveable climate for coming generations for short-term profits for their mates in the oil and gas industry. It is an absolute affront to the youth of Aotearoa that this government is happily throwing their future away for fleeting economic gain.'
'We all know the fossil fuel industry has no future. The government needs to get real and invest in transition jobs like Jobs For Nature, rural health clinics, sustainable timber milling for local markets and fossil-free technology for small-scale local agriculture.'
'We will also be organising against Todd Energy's new application to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Kawhia or the government's proposed new offshore wells near Maui.'
'Climate Justice Taranaki has been holding weekly Friday pickets outside oil and gas giants like OMV, Beach and Todd Energy in New Plymouth to highlight our community's opposition to their agenda of drilling us into extinction. We will keep pushing back against this government's mining agenda. Seabed mining, oil and gas drilling and coal extraction have no future in Aotearoa' concludes Signer.
To join the Fossil Fool Fridays for Future pickets, meet 8am on Gill St outside oil and gas miners: OMV, Todd and Beach Energy with a banner or placard. The picket will visit the ANZ bank afterwards due to their investment in Bathurst Resources coal mining in the South Island.
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