Hydrogen project needs regulatory stability, not a taxpayer handout
26 NOVEMBER 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Government shouldn’t be giving millions in taxpayer funding to a multinational energy company, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.
Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “$10 million or $20 million from the Provincial Growth Fund is a lot of money from
Kiwi taxpayers, but it won’t make a lick of difference to the feasibility of a billion-dollar hydrogen project.”
“The Government should let private interests, rather than taxpayers shoulder the risk of investment in new energy
production technology. We mustn’t repeat the mistakes of Sir Robert Muldoon’s taxpayer-funded Think Big projects, such
as the Motunui Synthetic Fuels Plant which closed after just 13 years.”
“Instead of throwing money at a corporate heavy-hitter, the Government should enable this project to proceed without
taxpayer involvement by giving 8 Rivers assurance it won’t pull out the regulatory rug in pursuit of an anti-gas
agenda.”
ENDS