2. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does she stand by her statement to the House regarding the electricity transmission grid in New Zealand: “The transmission system needs an upgrade”; if not, why not?
How can New Zealanders have any confidence that the upgrades required in the transmission grid will actually happen, when Transpower is operating with one hand tied behind its back, thanks to the refusal of the Prime Minister’s Government to reform the Resource Management Act, and the continued use of the flawed grid investment test by the Government’s Electricity Commission?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
Taking the first part, I say that of course last year changes were enacted to the Resource Management Act to include improvements requested by industries including infrastructure companies such as Transpower. That includes revised call-in provisions. The National Party voted against those specific provisions, which are able to be used in these circumstances.
Tim BarnettWhat reports has the Minister seen on the construction of new lines and significant upgrades, over the last 7 years?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
I have seen a claim by the Hon Dr Nick Smith that not a single additional kilometre has been added in the last 7 years. In fact, a number of new lines have been built, though admittedly building has been very limited—as was the case in the previous 7 years. In relation to the up-rating of lines, I tell members that over 2,000 kilometres of lines have been up-rated in the last 2½ years alone. Why Dr Smith does not know that, I do not know, because I hold in my hand a photograph that is captioned: “MP inspects progress” on the installing of another circuit on the Stoke to Blenheim line, and, holding the material as though he knows what is going on, is the Hon Dr Nick Smith.
Is the Prime Minister aware of criticisms by Transpower, and more recently by the Employers and Manufacturers Association, that the grid investment test introduced by her Government’s Electricity Commission puts narrow economic tests well ahead of crucial social and business concerns about the security of electricity supply, and results in much-needed upgrades in the network simply not occurring?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
I am aware of criticisms of the grid investment test. That is one of the reasons the Government is preparing, as a matter of urgency, a new energy policy statement, which will lay considerable emphasis upon increasing the margin for security. Of course, it is the previous Government that instructed Transpower to set up a committee whereby the consumers determined what upgrades should occur.
How can Transpower effectively manage the grid network, and conduct vitally necessary upgrades, when her Government has tied the company in regulation from both the Commerce Commission and the Electricity Commission, and then continues to subject it to an overly onerous requirement of an unreformed Resource Management Act?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
As I said, the Resource Management Act was, in fact, reformed last year specifically with projects such as this in mind. Of course, the fact is that it was some of the member’s own colleagues who most vehemently opposed that upgrade, most noticeably Ms Judith Collins, who said she would fight to oppose higher pylons running through her electorate.
When will she stop making excuses and passing the buck for every single infrastructural issue in this country, and actually admit that the initiatives taken by her Government, in creating the failed Electricity Commission and tying up the various players in Resource Management Act red tape, have actually made the situation markedly worse?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
It is quite clear that the failure that occurred in Auckland was not a consequence of the Resource Management Act. It was a consequence of reliance upon a single process through the Ōtāhuhu substation. The question of the major upgrade of the transmission line is one that, obviously, the Government is seized with. The Resource Management Act amendments last year are able to be used in that circumstance. The member’s own colleagues led the charge—both Ms Collins and Dr Paul Hutchison—and I ask him why.