Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says it will be "not long" before her government makes a decision about whether to stop oil exploration.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told those calling for an end to oil exploration in New Zealand that it'll be "not long" before her government makes a decision.
She received a 45,000-signature Greenpeace petition on parliament's lawn on Monday asking the government to ban new oil drilling.
Environmentalists widely praised Ms Ardern for stating before the election that climate change was the "nuclear-free moment" of her generation.
Since then, they've been putting the pressure on her to move on stopping new exploration.
Flanked by Climate Change Minister James Shaw and Energy Minister Megan Woods on Monday, the prime minister told the crowd of about 100 people that the government was actively considering the issue.
"I ask now for a bit more time ... We know it's something we can't afford to spend much time on."
But the government had to balance the need for action on climate issues "while making sure we take people with us" with a fair transition, Ms Ardern said.
"So while I ask for time, I'm not asking for much. Just enough that we can make sure we factor in everything that you would ask us to factor in."
Asked how far away a government decision was, she replied: "Not long."
During the event turning the petition over to the government, activists evoked previous Labour governments' environmental work, putting up a large banner of Ms Ardern at the end of a line featuring Norman Kirk, David Lange, and Helen Clark.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Kate Simcock called on Ms Ardern to turn her words into action by turning back the exploration boats as previous governments had turned away nuclear-powered military vessels.
ACT leader David Seymour said a ban would not only put 11,000 jobs at risk, but also come at the detriment of the environment.
"The oil and gas industry creates thousands of jobs, contributes $2.5 billion to the New Zealand economy and $500 million to the government in royalties each year," he said.
New Zealand-produced also oil had lower emissions than that produced overseas and half the emissions of coal, Mr Seymour said.
"This ban would force New Zealand households and firms to buy higher-cost and dirtier energy from foreign sources."
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