January 15, 2017
Tipoki takes to sea for oil blast protest
A Ngati Kahungunu-Rangitane man who has captained Maori voyaging waka around the Pacific has delivered a message of protest to the world’s biggest seismic exploration ship.
Reuben Raihania Tipoki was on board one of two Greenpeace inflatables that tracked down the Amazon Warrior, which is blasting off the Wairarapa Coast on behalf of oil giants Statoil and Chevron.
Mr Tipoki, a holiday park and cultural tour operator who chairs the South Wairarapa District Council’s Maori standing committee, delivered his message on Saturday by ship to ship radio on behalf of more than 80 hapuÌ„ of Te Ikaroa.
He says the continued burning of fossil fuels despite evidence of climate change is a sign of the arrogance of western culture.
“Western society still judges success on how much we can take instead of what we give, and we still expect the rest of the living planet to adjust to the way we want to live.
“The destruction of our environment has gone hand in hand with the erosion of Maori sovereignty and land alienation. If the world is to re-balance itself, indigenous cultures worldwide must be reinstated with their mana motuhake,” he says.
Mr Tipoki’s voyages have included captaining Okeanos for eight months during a 10,000-nautical mile journey from Fiji to Palau via Rotuma, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Greenpeace campaigner Kate Simcock also radioed the master of the Amazon Warrior to deliver an open letter of protest signed by over 60,000 New Zealanders.
The Amazon Warrior blasts sound waves into the ocean every 8 seconds, 24 hours a day.
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