Posted 20th August 2001

Power Less Politicians Pathetic

Ingorning a well known maxim is the essence of ignorance. Yet again New Zealanders are having to bear witness to politicians appealing to the excuse that the weather's to blame for electricity shortage when everybody knows it isn't bad luck, its bad management - resorting to blaming the weather is pathetic.

The Labour Party and many of its politicians were gung ho about selling off state assets in the '80s and now we're all having to bear the bad karma, energy being but one aspect, there's a lot more to follow. At its heart the problem is the framework of belief - adopted so readily by those who don't have one of their own - that competition is better than cooperation.

A moments reflection tells the discerning mind, governments are setup specifically to counter the bash or buy-out competition employed by individualistically selfish businesses in their drive for monopoly control of markets. Governments are meant to force cooperation onto those who would wreck by greed, the very social institutions on which their businesses depend. This tiny detail of philosophy escapes the `knowlege wave surfers' in their short-sightedness, and that is par for the course, but for it to escape politicians is breach of contract with its land and people. This breach has to be put straight:

1. Force power generating administrations to cooperate so that hydro-power is conserved after a certain level of reserves are starting to be used and non-hydro power-generation is used and electricity distributed nationally in a coordinated way irrespective of profitability to individuals and companies and government.

2. Re-commission non-hydro power generation capacity that has been moth-balled.

3. Re-nationlise the energy generation and distribution network.

4. Use government subsidies to encourage take-up of wind and solar power generation

5. Use penalty pricing for power consumption above audited requirements Governments have got the power, use it!. ..