By Kate Harvey
Content Manager | Pou Whakahaere Ihirangi
This week we organised a political debate to talk power bills. On the same day, we launched our Energy Report. The report makes for grim reading on how tough it’s got for some households – at the debate, the energy spokespeople from six of the political parties were grilled on what they’re going to do about it.
Journalist Lloyd Burr adjudicated the debate between David MacLeod (National), Megan Woods (Labour), David Wilson (New Zealand First), Simon Court (ACT), Scott Willis (Greens) and Qiulae Wong (Opportunity).
We were told energy minister Simeon Brown couldn’t make it because of a diary conflict.
Here are four memorable lines from the night.
1. “The hand of the market is invisible and it’s delivering for you.” – Simon Court, ACT
After hearing about how many New Zealanders are having to choose between heating and eating, ACT’s Simon Court told the room to have faith in the market to create competition: “Some of you just have to accept, and I know it’s hard, that the hand of the market is invisible and it’s delivering for you, whether you appreciate it or not.”
Megan Woods, sitting beside him, quipped: “It’s invisibly giving you the middle finger.”
2. When Megan Woods, Labour, called out the gas exploration “nostalgia trip”
With National’s David MacLeod promoting more gas exploration, he was asked by moderator Lloyd how he knows there’s gas out there.
“There’s gas being found in Taranaki on land right now,” McLeod said.
Woods, next with the microphone, said, “Now, David seems to have some sensor radar that he’s feeling with his hands that there is oil and gas out there and he’s going to divine it up, and New Zealand’s going to be okay. And it’s not there.”
Woods went on to say, “Let’s face facts: oil and gas is running out in New Zealand, and it is our job of the people sitting up here to come up with solutions that belong to this century, and that put New Zealand first, and our wellbeing as a country at the forefront, and we ensure that we can have an industrial future with well-paying jobs rather than some nostalgia trip.”
3. “That just sounds like politics is failing.” – Lloyd Burr
Megan Woods, who largely had the support of the room, lost it for a bit when she said it wasn’t the job of politicians to create cross-party consensus. Woods said to get politicians to agree, “It’s on you guys.”
“When you think about things like the climate legislation, that was business joining with the environmental NGOs, all coming together and saying we need cross-party consensus about this. You need the ability for pressure on the political spectrum at different points from outside of our system. So do not look to anyone up here to drive that. That is your job. So that’s on you,” Woods said.
As the room pushed back, Lloyd said, “That just sounds like politics is failing.”
Woods responded that it was about “representation and politics working together”.
To which Lloyd quipped, “The solution is to outsource the solution.”
4. “We have this roundabout where we have high energy prices, the government profits, then pays it back because people can’t afford their power bills. That is not a functioning market.” – Qiulae Wong, Opportunity
This one came during a discussion about whether people who live in regions where lines companies pay dividends should have the ability to donate their dividends to others who are struggling.
Qiulae Wong reminded everyone of the real issue at the heart of the debate. She described the roundabout where hardship grants are funded from the profits off the high power bills that people can’t afford in the first place.
In a well-meaning discussion, it was a reminder that at the centre of the problem is a market that’s currently failing too many people.
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