The 'No More Coal' Petition and NZDF Deployments to the Middle East w/ The Green Party's Ricardo Menendez March: 29 May, 2024

Last week, resources Minister Shane Jones released a draft strategy for mineral mining, aiming to double the amount of exports in the sector. 

The strategy also mentioned "significant amounts of different types and grades of coal deposits" in Aotearoa, and aimed to align consents for coal to other minerals in order to increase coal extraction.

In response, the Green party has created a petition, calling on the government to completely roll back on its coal mining initiatives and to protect the natural ecosystems of Aotearoa. 

For their weekly catch up, Oto spoke to Green Party MP, Ricardo Menendez-March, to discuss the petition. We also had a conversation about the Defence Minister Judith Collins decision to extend New Zealand Defence Force deployments to the Middle East and Africa