8. CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National—West Coast - Tasman) Link to this
to the Minister for the Environment
What reports, if any, has he received about a petition and submissions calling on the National Government to halt aerial deployment of aerosolized chemicals and biological agents that will result in irreparable, toxic, long-term heavy-metal poisoning and illness of the populace and environment?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment) Link to this
I received a petition and submissions on Saturday from a group called the Clear Skies Action Group. It claims that the American Government, with the secret approval of the National Government, is covertly using jet aircraft to spray population centres with aluminium, barium, and strontium so as to reduce people’s immunity and to reduce the global population. The apparent motive behind this conspiracy theory is one world government.
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The chief petitioner, Mr Will Ryan, advises me that he has secured dozens of signatures in Nelson and that the action group has support in Whangarei, Hamilton, Ōtaki, and Kaikōura. Mr Ryan also advised me that he had the support of Maryan Street, Labour’s new foreign affairs spokesperson, and that she was very concerned about what the Americans and the CIA were doing. She agreed to place a poster on the issue up in her office, collect signatures, and present the petition to Parliament, seeking a full public inquiry.
What correspondence or other information has the Minister received expressing public support for the group and its concerns about the deliberate chemical contamination of the population by jet aircraft?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
The petition forms circulating in Nelson and presented to me had the Labour Party logo and list MP Maryan Street’s address on them. The same concerns are reflected in an article referred to me by the group in Investigate magazine and by its editor, Ian Wishart. I have also seen correspondence from Labour list MP Mr Darren Hughes raising concerns on behalf of his constituents about the issue. I want to assure the House that both my ministry and my colleague the Minister of Health have received correspondence on this issue, that this conspiracy theory does not have an iota of truth, and that the trails observed from aircraft simply come from jet engines.
Charles ChauvelWhy has the Minister neglected to convey a full and frank impression of the matter to the House by failing to mention that Maryan Street described the petition in his local newspaper as “the purest form of conspiracy theory I’ve seen in a long time.”, and—[ Interruption]
Mr SPEAKERI apologise to the member. I cannot hear with the level of interjection. I invite Charles Chauvel to start his question again.
Why has the Minister neglected to convey a full and frank impression of the matter to the House by failing to mention that Maryan Street described the petition in his local newspaper as the purest form of conspiracy theory she had seen in a long time; and was there perhaps something in the local water when he made the comments that have just cost the taxpayer over $200,000 in legal fees?
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
I base my statements on the comments made by the chief petitioner, Mr Will Ryan, who assured me that Maryan Street had given her enthusiastic support for the petition. I have checked today, and in the cafes of Nelson the petition in the name of the Labour Party continues to be distributed. I think it is appalling that the new Labour spokesperson on foreign affairs is spreading conspiracy theories—
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Link to this
I seek leave of the House to table the petition that is being circulated in Nelson under the name of the New Zealand Labour Party and with Maryan Street’s name and address on it.
I seek leave to table the comments of Maryan Street describing the petition in the terms that I referred to in a supplementary question.