Hon Roger Sowry MP National Party Energy Spokesman

06 August 2004

Minister must be comfortable with power price rises

National Party Energy spokesman Roger Sowry says he is "surprised" by Genesis Energy's decision to increase power prices for 77,000 Wellington customers.

"The Minister for State Owned Enterprises must be aware and comfortable with the rises. After all, the President of the Labour Party is on the Genesis Board.

"The move to increase prices is somewhat surprising, since Genesis has been on a hugely expensive marketing campaign to attract new customers by offering lower prices.

"It was just a few weeks ago that the Energy Minister was criticising the company for resisting attempts by the Government to impose special new rates for smaller domestic users.

"Surely the public could be forgiven for expecting the same standard would be applied by the Government in response to the latest rises," says Mr Sowry.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>