And the oil spills onto the beaches once more....

Alright, so here's the situation.

ANDREW GORRIE/Fairfax NZ

A big oil tanker has run aground on the reef just off New Zealand shores.  There something like 1700 tonnes of fuel on the ship, and an unspecified number of 'dangerous containers' aboard the ship which Steven Joyce (the transport minister who I will not be voting for in November) has so far been tight lipped about the actual contents of.

It's said to have the potential to be the largest oil spill in the southern hemisphere. Ever.

Here's the pretty damning report from TVNZ news about the official reaction to the spill. And another from Stuff.co.nz; Toxic Oil Crisis

Some of the 'highlights':

"Oil could continue to wash up for weeks, Transport Minister Steven Joyce said at a press conference this afternoon."

"The ship is also carrying 11 containers of dangerous goods, including four of the hazardous substance ferro-silicon which is flammable if it comes into contact with water, Radio New Zealand reported."

"The highly toxic oil is scattered down kilometres of the coastline, and dead birds doused in oil are also littering the tourist hotspot.  It is the locals, not authorities picking them up, and the lack of official action is leaving locals furious. The Defence Force said in a statement this afternoon it had 300 personnel on standby ready to clean up the beach."

The little video clip from this Stuff report includes Stephen Joyce admitting that "THREE or FOUR of these kinds of incidents happen per year" that comes just after John Key saying that this kind of thing is "extremely rare".

You're standing next to each other. Get your stories straight guys. Let alone asking the question "are we accepting, as a global population, that three or four serious oil spills per year is acceptable"?!

"They're computer modelling this in London" states John Key, "it's not just as simple as moving it on".  Thanks for your insight into that one.  How about some authorities on the ground cleaning up the oil for a start?

I hope you join me in asking some tough questions when it comes to election time - the official response to this has been questionable, and we've still got a tanker full of oil & unspecified 'dangerous goods' sitting on a reef, washing oil onto our "clean green shores".

Time for us to start asking the National Government just how much they are committed to an environment  suitable for a '100% Pure' brand they so espouse, and what they're going to do to start protecting and enhancing it, instead of simply letting it slowly (or as the case may be, all too quickly) degrade.

I for one would like to hear some answers if this is their level of capability and accountability for a primary asset of the nation.

Lets see if John Key is at all interested in getting on National Radio and actually debating the role of government in this one... my money's on that he'd rather stick to breakfast TV...

Perhaps this is what they're hoping for...