Environmental lobby group Greenpeace has staged a couple of attention-grabbing stunts at the New Zealand Petroleum Summit, which launched in at Sky City Auckland on Tuesday and finishes this afternoon.
Yesterday morning a handful of female protesters attired in business suits and reportedly carrying fake ID and conference credentials managed to breach security and temporarily disrupt a session Energy Minister Simon Bridges was speaking at.
They rolled devices emitting a high pitched noise under delegates' seats before being escorted off the premises by security, in the process waving banners protesting Norwegian oil giant Statoil’s plans to drill for deep sea oil off NZ’s coast.
Statoil, which is partly sponsoring the summit, has been granted a 15-year exploration permit for the Northland basin off the coast of Ahipara beach, where it intends to drill between 1000 and 2000 metres below the ocean surface.
Last night, 26 Greenpeace activists decked out in swimsuits and drenched in fake oil were waiting to greet guests as they arrived for the summit dinner.
"Kiwis don't want Statoil drilling off our coastlines risking our beaches and economy," Greenpeace NZ chief political advisor Nathan Argent said.
"The Government does not have a mandate to open up our oceans and drill for oil. A majority of Kiwis want to see the government invest in cleaner, smarter energy."
Mr Bridges said he wasn’t disturbed by the protests and thought it was unlikely those attending the summit would be either.