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Both Prime Minister John Key and dairy giant Fonterra are turning a deaf ear to Greenpeace activists' demands following Wednesday's dramatic protest off the Port of Tauranga .
Fifteen Greenpeace protesters boarded the Hong Kong-registered freighter East Ambition, lashing themselves to cranes and the anchor, preventing the ship from docking.
They were protesting Fonterra's importation of palm kernel for use as stock feed because of its role in the destruction of rainforests, predominantly in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Police removed them once the ship docked on Wednesday night and they were charged with illegally boarding a vessel . They will appear in the Tauranga District Court within the next week.
Key says he was not going to stop imports of palm kernel, because it was "used for about 1% of feed in New Zealand".
"It's a waste product, in my opinion it's not leading to deforestation and on that basis I have no intention of intervening."
Fonterra says the vessel did not carry any of its feed, and that
the kernel it imported for its dairy farms came from sustainable
suppliers.
They say that palm kernel animal feed is a by-product of a
by-product and would just go to waste if Fonterra didn't buy
it.
"What Greenpeace seem to be saying is that they are anti-trade,
anti the New Zealand economy...we need Greenpeace to get out of the
way actually because they are the ones damaging our brand," says
Don Nicholson of Federated Farmers.
The company dismissed Greenpeace's protest as a dangerous publicity
stunt that "potentially damages New Zealand's reputation as a
lawful country", said John Lea, chief executive of Fonterra's rural
merchandising company RD1.
Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson says the protesters should be prosecuted as pirates.
He respected their right to protest legally, "but they have crossed the line by interfering with legal commerce and free navigation on the high seas".
Greenpeace says the use of palm kernel for animal feed undermined New Zealand farmers' "clean, green" claims.
PKE is a by-product of the palm oil process.
Campaign director Chris Harris says only 4% of palm oil came from sustainable sites.
Statistics New Zealand showed that 1.1 million tonnes of palm kernels - almost a quarter of the world's supply - are sold to New Zealand a year.
New Zealand farmers' use of animal feed has increased because of drought, the higher cost of locally grown grains, and the increasing intensification of farms. Grass provides 95% of dairy cows' diet, and the other 5% is supplements such as kernels.
Tauranga police area commander Inspector Mike Clement says he is pleased the situation had been resolved without harm to any of the ship's crew, emergency personnel or protesters.
The Port of Tauranga, Fire Service, Coastguard, Customs and private contractors were also involved in the operation.
Have the Greenpeace protestors gone too far? Or do you believe in their cause? Share your opinion on our message board below?
Add a Comment:
Post new commentjl555 said on 2009-09-18 @ 02:25 NZDT: Report abusive post
How can John Key say that Fonterra purchasing PKE doesn't contribute to deforestation when it is a valuable part of the profits made from the growing of palm oil plants? His ignorance is consistently astounding.
Janeo said on 2009-09-17 @ 12:04 NZDT: Report abusive post
Greenpeace has brought to the public attention yet another unsustainable business practice. Great publicity stunt. I hope John Key will do a lot more research on the subject deforestation and climate change.
Lanary said on 2009-09-17 @ 10:43 NZDT: Report abusive post
I don't know about in indonesia but in malaysia you view from an aeroplane window as you eye can see, they every where, miles and mile of palm oil tree and even in cambodia the same. I don't know about deforesting. The protest gone a bit too far
jheb2007 said on 2009-09-17 @ 09:30 NZDT: Report abusive post
The calls that palm kernel is just a by-product and that it would just rot on the
stojo01 said on 2009-09-17 @ 09:17 NZDT: Report abusive post
Deforestation to plant Palm Oil trees is a major problem in Indonesia. Whether the kernels are a by product or not makes no difference, they still contribute to the commercial success of the plant. Where is the protest against the use of the palm oil plants primary product.?