MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) – Most New Zealand parliamentary candidates from Kaikoura oppose fracking and are cautious about oil exploration off the Kaikoura coast, the debates showed, Marlborough Express reported Friday.
Fracking is "an abomination", John McCaskey from the Democrats for Social Credit said, as quoted by the Marlborough Express, linking it to water contamination and the subsequent disappearance of some rural towns in Australia.
Labour's Candidate for the Kaikoura Electorate for the 2014 election, Janette Walker, said she did not really like the idea of fracking, but thought it was worthwhile if New Zealand could follow the Norwegian approach to oil drilling, where the funds from it went to health and education programs.
Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand and a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, sending one MP to the House of Representatives. New Zealand’s next General Election will be held September 20, and nine candidates are contesting the Kaikoura electorate.
Gas resolution and oil exploration are very important to New Zealand. Its economy could hugely benefit from it. Nevertheless, the number of people opposed to deep sea drilling continues to grow. Protests against oil and gas exploration swept across the South Island of New Zealand in the beginning of 2014, as reported by One News.
Offshore fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground. Hydraulically pressured liquid fractures shale rocks to release the natural gas inside.
