Source: Greenpeace
Author: Emma Page
Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM) and Greenpeace Aotearoa delivered a petition to Green Party MP Eugenie Sage and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer at Te Whare Paremata (Parliament).
The petition, signed by over 35,000 New Zealanders, called for the ban of seabed mining.
“Seabed mining is a highly destructive industry that bulldozes the seafloor, releasing carbon and harming the ocean and the creatures who call it home,” says Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner James Hita.
“We’re calling on the government to ban seabed mining in the waters of Aotearoa immediately.
“Valiant efforts from iwi and grassroot groups have successfully stalled seabed mining operations so far, but the door remains open to mining companies. The government must ban seabed mining to protect the health of the ocean that connects and nourishes us,” says Hita.
Phil Mccabe, of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition says: “New Zealand has a moral obligation to both share our stand-alone experience in forensically scrutinising seabed mining proposals with the rest of the world and to call for caution on moves to enable the activity on a massive scale in the Pacific, by standing for a moratorium in international waters.”