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!. ..
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