Brown Peter: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Brown Peter: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:618;Page:14370] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 I would like to put two questions to the Minister. First of all is he happy with the state of affairs with regard to energy in this country right now and secondly does he believe that that state of affairs has become worse better or remained the same since the Labour Government came to power? If he thinks it has become worse perhaps he could kindly tell us why because there are people hurting out there and hurting badly. They are facing price rise after price rise; they do not know when it will come or how it will come and furthermore they do not believe they can take it any more. 
Energy—electricity—is essential and at one time this country had an abundance of it but now it has slipped away and we are barely keeping pace with what we need. The whole portfolio needs a ray of fresh thinking. Specifically there are three aims. We must guarantee security of supply—that is essential. We have had two dry years and business and individuals have suffered. We must make electricity available at a reasonable price to all New Zealanders and available at the flick of a switch and we must have increasing capacity. We must have more investment in the industry so that we can increase capacity. They are the three principle aims of the electricity industry. Our fourth aim would be to educate and encourage people and dare I say it give some incentive for people to conserve energy. I have been told that in Australia for example the Government is offering financial incentives for people to install solar heating in their homes and wherever. It would make a huge difference here if many homes adopted solar heating for their water heating. 
 The Government recently announced that in October it will make it compulsory for retailers to offer the 30c plus GST maximum line charge for people who will use less than 8000 kilowatts a year. That is a move in the right direction. Up until now I understand that that has been voluntary and has been adopted by only one or two retailers but not everybody. The Minister is going to make it compulsory. But the public by and large do not understand it. Indeed MPs in this Chamber do not understand it. Stephen Franks is on record as saying that that will give the high-flying businessman the opportunity for cheap power in his holiday home and in an article by Ken Shirley of ACT Mr Shirley endorsed that view. My understanding is that that is not true and perhaps the Minister will advise this Parliament as to what the truth is. My understanding is that a person who goes on to that cheap line price will pay extra on a per unit basis and will gain something only if he or she uses less than 8000 kilowatts per year. I understand also that it is aimed at only the individual’s principal home. 
Cheap gas is running low and New Zealanders are concerned. Hydroelectricity over the last 2 years has proved unreliable basically because when our lakes are full they hold a capacity for only a few weeks or a couple of months at most I understand. So if we have a dry season then we cannot depend totally on hydro power. Wind power is only a bit player yet I think the Minister is pushing that like nobody’s business. But many many people are concerned about the noise of wind generators and they do not want to see windmills scattered all over hillsides. I understand that even if we adopt wind power in a fairly significant form it could be only a bit player in the power game. But we have got an abundance of coal. There are huge coal resources in this country—15 billion tonnes. I am told that something close to 9 billion tonnes is reasonably accessible. Yet in reading the select committee’s report on coal one has to wonder where the Government is going in terms of that fuel. We have an abundance of it.