Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:608;Page:5467] 
7.  
GERRY BROWNLEE (NZ National—Ilam) 
 to the  
Minister of Energy 
: What is his response to the president of the Contractors Federation who stated this morning: “The Government has had ample warning of another shortage but has sat on its hands”? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Energy) 
: 
 My response is that Mr Thompson’s view appears to be based on a misunderstanding about how much generation capacity has been commissioned in recent years. He claims it is 166 megawatts since 2000. He is wrong. The figure is a little over 500 megawatts. Many of his other assertions are also wrong. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: How can he deny that the Government has been sitting on its hands when—excluding the commissioning of the Otahuhu B power station which was built under the previous National Government and commissioned less than 2 weeks after he took office—a mere 166 megawatts of additional generation capacity measured according to his answer to a parliamentary question has been commissioned during his term as Minister of Energy compared with Ministry of Economic Development advice that we need at least 150 megawatts a year just to keep pace with demand? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The member chooses to play the game of arithmetic whereby one can count only stuff that has been built and commissioned since this Government was elected. It is then equally reasonable for the Government to add to the figure the stuff that has been built during this term but not yet commissioned. 
Mark Peck 
: What communications have the Minister or the Government received from the New Zealand Contractors Federation on electricity matters? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: My office has no record of the New Zealand Contractors Federation ever having written to me on electricity issues nor has it ever made a submission on any of the electricity policy processes on which the Government has consulted the public. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: In a speech entitled “Energy: the way forward” made by the Minister on 7 October last year and posted on his website he referred on page 2 to advice he was receiving back then that alarm bells would be ringing this year and in 2004; what specific action if any has he taken in response to those ringing alarm bells that he identified last October to ensure supply security? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Soon after the last election the Government received two reports one of which said if I recall correctly that we might be in difficulty if we had a dry year from 2005. The other said if I recall correctly which I may not that it would be from a little later than that. We had those reports checked out. Both of them were based on modelling that was not very good. It turns out that both reports in the event were wrong—as would always happen in an extremely dry year. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Supplementary question Mr Eckhoff. 
Gerrard Eckhoff 
: Thank you Mr Speaker. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I want to check something. Mr Rodney Hide was going to ask one of our questions but you ruled it out. Does that mean that we have another question? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If I ruled a question out I ruled a question out. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Righto so we have a question so now we will ask one. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have called Mr Eckhoff and he has actually started. He is from the member’s own party. 
Gerrard Eckhoff 
: Can the Minister explain how the investment of $600 million by State-owned Meridian Energy in Australian generation assists with New Zealand’s ongoing energy crisis which is due in large measure to a lack of generation investment in New Zealand? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I am sorry the member did not listen to the answer to that question when it was last asked of me. Back then I said that I was sure that our shareholding Ministers would not have allowed a State-owned enterprise to invest offshore if it had been going to in any way interfere with their investments onshore. That company has announced a $1 billion investment and tomorrow that same company will be announcing another investment in New Zealand. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Before I call the next supplementary question can I just say to Mr Hide that I did make an error. The member had asked a full question and I ruled it out. That was one of the member’s questions. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You actually stopped me before I got anywhere near asking my question. That was my point of order at the time. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will reflect on that while I hear Mr Copeland. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Can the Minister confirm whether Mighty River Power intends to proceed with the recommissioning of the Marsden B oil-fired power station; if so against what timetable? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Mighty River Power is pretty much explaining its position publicly so I will just repeat that it is spending an amount of money—I think a little over $1 million—looking at the prospect of recommissiong Marsden B and will likely make a decision in the next month or two. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Referring to the article written by Stephen Thompson president of the Contractors Federation I ask whether the Minister concedes that New Zealand is “stuffed for new supplies” of electricity in the next 3 to 4 years unless the Government resorts to draconian fast-track legislation to consent to new generation projects and can we expect that to be part of the Prime Minister’s announcement later this week? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: No but I will be announcing later this week what the 3-year generation programme is. We do not have all the data together yet but it is likely to exceed 900 megawatts. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I want to go over a matter raised earlier that I have got advice on. It does not matter whether Mr Hide had finished his supplementary question—I ruled it out of order. He could have sought my assistance and reworded the question but he did not. So the question must stand. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I seek leave to table a newspaper article entitled “Power crisis is minister’s fault”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that newspaper article; is there any objection? There is.