Kiwi Musicians say No to Deep Sea Drilling at Don’t Mess With Texas: July 20
THE New Zealand government has banned Kiwis from protesting at sea against foreign oil companies - but that won’t stop the good musician folk of K Road singing about it.
Tiny Ruins, The Bads, Voom, and Nightchoir will head a line up of 11 of New Zealand’s finest bands this month when they take to the stage in objection to foreign oil giant, Anadarko’s plans to drill deep in to the heart of Aotearoa’s pristine oceans next summer.
Well-known environmental activist and musician, Steve Abel will be one of those acts giving voice to the hoards of concerned Kiwis who want the Texas oil company to stay well away from their oceans.
“Don’t Mess with Texas is part of a national movement of people saying ‘we should have the right to defend our un-spoilt oceans by peaceful protest and express our concern about deep sea oil drilling, which threatens that which we hold nearest and dearest in New Zealand – our un-spoilt oceans and coastlines and our safe to eat seafood’. Those things are a kiwi birthright and aren’t worth risking for some foreign oil dollars.”
They legislated against the public right to protest, says Steve, when the Anadarko Amendment was passed in April of this year banning certain acts of protest at sea. The legislation was a direct response to the successful campaign by Te Whanau a Apanui and a flotilla of boats which stopped Brazilian Oil giant Petrobras from drilling off the East Cape in 2010.
And with Anadarko’s intention to drill off the coast of Taranaki and Otago this coming summer – Steve says the time to act is now.
“We’re at a vital time in history. Right when our clean pure reputation is most valuable to us (because its what the whole world needs more of) the government is pushing heavily for an expansion of fossil fuel extraction and at the forefront of that push is extreme deep sea oil drilling like we have never seen in this country.
“The deepest production oil well offshore in New Zealand is currently 120 metres and they are talking about drilling at thousands of meters. As we saw in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, when things go wrong they go disastrously wrong. The risk to New Zealand from a deep water blow out is massive and we don’t need to take that risk – we’ll be happier healthier and wealthier by sticking to the clean and green.”
Don’t Mess with Texas will feature a soap box on the night to give New Zealanders back the right to have their say.
All proceeds go to Deep Sea Oil Watch Auckland and oil free auckland
