In my column for The Daily Blog this week, I dig into the tangled relationship between New Zealand’s electricity system, a multinational mining company, and the New Zealand government, and argue that radical reform of the electricity market would be beneficial for the country:
If Rio Tinto Alcan pull the plug on Tiwai Point, a future government will have the perfect excuse to simplify the electricity system, cut electricity prices and deliver a low-emissions future for us all. High time our politicians faced up to the fact that market-based business as usual is no recipe for our electricity future (or any other, for that matter).
If I was in the Government I’d secretly be hoping Rio Tinto pulls out just so you could see the smug look being wiped from Russell Norman’s face. He has got himself politically vulnerable here.
BTW my reply to your comment about who you would prefer to see on the Nine to noon slot instead of Matthew Hooten never made it throigh for some reason.
I would love to see your choice if only for the sound of a certain left wing blogger match what his nom de plum suggests as he spontaneously combust in self-indignation.
I have no idea why that didn’t get through his moderation 😉
I know I keep going on about it like a stuck record but we should be starting to convert our transport to electric. We would save on our balance of payments by reducing our import bill and improve our CO2 emission position.