Stopping a future Labour government from shutting down gas exploration

Stopping a future Labour government from shutting down gas exploration

A defiant Resources Minister Shane Jones has responded to Saturday’s environmental protests by ending Labour’s offshore oil exploration ban and calling for long-term contracts with any successful explorers. The purpose would be to prevent a future Labour Government from reversing any licence the explorers might hold. Jones sees a precedent in the original 1973 Maui gas contract, which saw the Crown not only become a 50 per cent shareholder in th…