PRESS RELEASE
for immediate release
Libertarianz
Green Plans For Electricity Monopoly 'Economic Dyslexia'
Libertarianz Party leader Richard McGrath today said the suggestion by the Green and Labour Parties to set up an
electricity wholesaler run by politicians smacks of economic dyslexia.
"The current electricity market is almost entirely government-run, with three of the big four retailers and the national
grid operator still state-owned enterprises."
"The pseudo-reforms put in place by the National Party when in government did not deliver a free market in electricity
supply. Rather, it maintained the government's dominance in this crucial market. The not-for-profit model of Power
Boards was replaced by the SOE model with little or no discernible benefit for consumers."
"The way to get retail electricity prices down is to allow new players into the market and expose the state-owned
dinosaurs - Genesis, Meridian and MightlyRiver - to increased levels of competition. Rather than putting politicians in
control of the electricity market, power companies should be allowed to put pressure on each other to better serve their
customers. The consumer - not the politician - should be king."
McGrath described the suggestion that an entity called NZ Power award themselves a monopoly on the purchase of generated
electricity at a 'fair' price and magically deliver cheap electricity to the people as "pure Marxist fantasy".
"Whenever a politician drops the word 'fair' into a sentence, it invariably refers to a centrally planned
command-and-control economy of which Rob Muldoon and Chairman Mao would be proud. People should run a mile from such
charlatans."
"If Opposition co-leader Russel Norman wanted a sustained drop in electricity retail prices, he would be advocating for
the government to end its interference in the energy sector. His 'NZ Power' plan is aptly named - it's all about more
power for statist politicians, and less power for common New Zealanders."
"Any reduction in electricity prices based on the flawed and outdated theories of Lenin and Marx will be short lived,
require massive subsidisation and be open to political manipulation."
"The Greens are, in the same breath, talking of price hikes when a household's use electricity rises above a certain
level, in the interests of 'efficiency'. That sort of we-know-best ideology is poison to New Zealanders who value their
freedom and the ability to make choices for themselves."
"However, I don't hold out any hope that this National-led administration are interested in reforming the electricity
market - with few exceptions, they abandoned any pretence of limiting the scope and power of government over individual
Kiwis long ago."
ENDS