In the 2009 Budget the National Government made provision to continue the exemption of tax on profits for non-resident operators of offshore rigs and seismic vessels up to 2014. Interest from the international exploration industry with the technology to exploit the mineral rich seabed is heating up as they strategically position themselves within the South Pacific, as Amokura Panoho investigates.
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Key quotes from this article:
“The issue of ownership and control for Pacific nations will no doubt become contentious given that they are attempting to fast track legislation without the benefit of adequate research to help them understand their seabed environment, the ecology and its true value beyond their
traditional knowledge. ”
“Compared to Mäori, the Pacific communities relationship with their surrounding oceans is a much stronger and more inseparable part of their culture, identity and way of life. Their interconnectedness with the cycles of the sea makes them to some degree dependent on it for their survival.”
“As customary resources increase in value, pressure to have them removed from any traditional hold will mount, and technologies that can unleash the untold potential may also cause immeasurable harm. No-one knows for sure what the environmental impact will be, but critics point to the negative impact dredging and increased turbidity will have on plankton that form the base of the ocean’s food chain.”
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