The announcement by the Government to end offshore oil and gas exploration has left Stratford mayor Neil Volzke in disbelief.
"This was a huge call that comes as a real body blow to the oil and gas industry and all those associated with it throughout New Zealand. By flicking the switch and ruling out any future offshore exploration permits, the Government has officially labelled oil and gas production in this country a sunset industry."
Neil says with no clear transition plan from the Government on what the future of power generation and other energy alternatives will look like, it is hard to fully understand this ideologically driven decision, that has been rushed through without consultation or discussion.
A real concern, he says, is that the potential impact of the decision goes beyond just stopping exploration.
"It sends a negative message to investors, both international and local, that may affect other non-related industries. It also suggests that other carbon emitting industries, like dairying, could also be future targets of a government imposed, major changes of direction."
The Stratford District will be impacted by last week's announcement, says Neil.
"Many people in our community work within the industry and any negativity and investment slow down will have an impact. In the longer term, when known gas supplies are exhausted or become uneconomic to extract, gas fired power stations like the Contact Energy station at Stratford will not be able to continue to operate."
Neil says he hopes the Government will not leave the region unsupported.
"The Government has indicated that it wants to engage with the people of the region and develop new opportunities for workers to transition into newly created, futuristic jobs.
This will be a huge challenge, as many involved with the industry have very specialised skill sets that relate to the energy and engineering sectors. They have also said they are willing to invest more into the region and the Government's new $1 billion Provincial Growth Fund could be utilised for this purpose. We have already had some welcome examples of this with the recent announcement of $20 million to be invested into the region, but much more will be needed."
The announcement last week was a surprise, says Neil, and the reasoning behind the decision itself also leaves the mayor scratching his head.
"If the end goal is to reduce carbon emissions and reduce environmental impact, like others, I am at a loss to understand how this decision will achieve that. Pulling the pin on exploration at the supply end of the equation, will have little impact on demand and consumption. If demand continues to grow for oil and gas derivatives, then we will just end up importing fuel from elsewhere and achieving no real emissions reduction at all.
This will come at a huge cost with no environmental benefit. To me it would seem more logical to incentivise clean energy alternatives at the demand end of the equation."