Tabuteau FletcherFLETCHER TABUTEAU (NZ First): I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to speak about the electricity sector in New Zealand at the moment. I start by highlighting the fact that this Government has certainly shown no tender loving care for the people of Taranaki - King Country. People are trying to live their lives and run their businesses under a regime that is dictatorial and impenetrable. This is a company whose spokesperson told stakeholders not to worry about a certain complainant as they would die soon. This typifies this company.Actually earlier on in the day the Minister was technically correct when she earlier referenced an inquiry by the Commerce Committee. It is true—it simply found no laws were broken in the undertaking of that business. Minister do you not think that when people are literally dying when they are getting sick and showing symptoms that arise from cold and damp homes—more than any other part of the country—that it would be appropriate for this Government to intervene even that one? When councillors and mayors cry out for help trying to tell that National Government that their businesses are dying and that their region is being strangled did she not think that perhaps in this instance the free market was not working—that a region and its people needed their Government to show some leadership and take charge.The Lines Company has accepted the report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and soon we will have some transparency which I respect and agree with. But with a weak and under-resourced Commerce Commission which the Minister kept referencing in her replies to questions today—we have a weak Commerce Commission and she cannot and would not give assurances to the people and the businesses of Taranaki - King Country that they will actually be better off under this new pricing methodology. She certainly did not give any assurances that that Government would be looking out for those people.New Zealand First wants everyone in their homes today to know that their residential power prices have exploded 148 percent since National's so-called reforms—reforms that were sold to Kiwis under the pretence that the market could do it better and make it cheaper for them. National has created a retail electricity market mess. Those members opposite need to know that electricity used to be about 11c per unit. Now it is about 29c per unit on average. Minister Kiwi homes are paying 148 percent more for their power today than they did when the reforms started. Let us be honest about it. That bears absolutely no relationship to general price increases. That bears absolutely no relationship to inflation. Power prices have in fact galloped a whopping 69 percent ahead of inflation over this period. There have been winners. Of course there have been winners in this arrangement but they have not been our Kiwi consumers farmers or small business. Most especially they have not been our Kiwi exporters who could use a real competitive advantage right now—not the spin from the National Government about 90 percent full-time equivalents. It is rubbish.Wholesale power prices are incredibly low right now but power prices are so high for Kiwis in their homes and in their businesses. Someone is gouging the industry and we want to know who that is Minister. For the last year or so the Electricity Authority has been running rampant scaring regional New Zealand with its idiotic theories on distribution pricing charges. It has been shown and proven that the Electricity Authority's proposed price increases will lead to thousands of job losses and we have now heard that Kiwi businesses have been scared off and have decided not to invest in their businesses in our country because they do not know the lay of the land.Let us be clear. New Zealand First will take action. The electricity industry must take heed of this message today. New Zealanders had better be paying substantially less for their electricity because we will hold it to account. Thank you.