May 11, 2014
Labour plan short on conservation
Forest and Bird is keen to continue working with Maori on conservation issues.
The organisation has endorsed Labour’s new environment policy, with reservations.
Advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell says the party has recognised that the quality of New Zealand’s environment is integral to the country’s economic wellbeing, but it has stopped short of ruling out mining or fracking on conservation land.
He says it’s still willing to allow companies to drill for oil and gas in some of New Zealand’s deepest waters, which is of concern to conservationists and iwi alike.
"The deep sea oil, there's been a lot of concern expressed by different iwi around the country abiout that. Obviously they are very worried about the potential impact of oil spills on the marine environment, on the ability to collect food and taonga species that are out there," Mr Hackwell says.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN HACKWELL CLICK ON THE LINK
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