English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:608;Page:5602] 
6.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Minister of Energy 
: What lessons did the Government learn from the 2001 power crisis and why does the Prime Minister now say that the Government has been waiting on “frustratingly slow” advice from officials in order to address the current power crisis? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Energy) 
: 
 Many lessons. The transmission constraints of 2001 for example have all been identified and fixed. We have been working on long-term security of supply issues for some time and I will be announcing long-term changes later this month. 
Hon Bill English 
: Does he believe that the Prime Minister correctly blamed officials and does he think she was conscious of the review of the electricity market done after the 1999 election the review of the 2001 winter crisis and the Government policy statement on energy; was she conscious of the amended Government policy statement on energy following the 2001 crisis and if she was aware of that how can she claim that his officials have been “frustratingly slow” in offering advice? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: By way of example I just say that following the winter 2001 review the officials’ advice was that the market would self-correct to a considerable extent. That is now no longer a fair representation of their view and it most certainly is not of mine. 
Mark Peck 
: What lessons have been taken from earlier dry-year power shortages? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The 1992 power crisis which resulted in a major power savings campaign and hot water cuts for 18 hours a day was taken then as an example of failure in a centrally managed system. The lesson taken at that time was that we would be better off with a market model—and with privatisation. 
Peter Brown 
: Noting those answers is the Minister aware that worldwide nearly 40 percent of electricity is produced from coal; is he aware that New Zealand has billions of tonnes of coal; does he not believe that it is worthwhile that we should be developing power stations run on coal and at the same time advancing the technology to eliminate the carbon dioxide by-product; and does he not think that is a lesson we should have learnt in 2001 and should learn now in 2003? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister may answer two of those questions. 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: If it is just two questions that I can answer then the answers to the first two are yes and yes. 
Peter Brown 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. We have a power crisis in this country and the flippant answer that the Minister gave— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will please be seated. I would have thought that the answer “yes” was a specific answer and that is something that is always demanded. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: What comment does the Minister have on the analysis by Colin James in his column on 5 May in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 where after discussion on the energy efficiency and conservation strategy he stated: “But since the initial fanfare there has been no visible urgency. When the long-term electricity supply constraints edged into ministerial consciousness late last year the strategy was nowhere to be heard amid mutterings about market failure and denials of crisis. Ministers’ focus was on the supply side.”? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The question itself was a little long. 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: It is quite true that the Government is preoccupied with the supply side because it is the lack of fuel that we currently face. Part of the solution to that is to reduce demand both through energy efficiency which the strategy that the member referred to addresses and also from a savings campaign that New Zealanders are now stepping up to usefully. 
Stephen Franks 
: Having previous asked about the water being spilled down the Whanganui River and understanding that it is about 25 megawatts will “doing something” include stopping that wastage of water? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Right off the top of my head I say that water is heading down the headwaters of the Whanganui River pursuant to the decision of a 1992 court case. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Does the Minister believe that there is additional capacity in New Zealand for hydroelectricity generation and that from an environmental point of view that should rank ahead of thermal generation using coal? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: From an environmental perspective yes. But more important from an economic perspective mostly the renewable sources that are being planned over the next several years are priced to come in under coal which is why a purely coal-fired power station has not been applied for in this country ever since the Meremere station was dismantled. 
Hon Bill English 
: Now that the Minister is aware that the Prime Minister is blaming the electricity crisis on slow officials is he concerned that he may get some of the blame given that he said it was not until he went for a cycling holiday got fit and was able to think clearly that he came up with an answer just a few weeks ago? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: It is true that it has taken us longer than we would want to fix the supply but that is because we did not realise just how comprehensively Max Bradford had stuffed it up.