Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill

Thursday 26 July 2007

Te Ururoa Flavell, Member of Parliament for Waiariki

“Tera tetahi korero, “ma te mea mätämuri ka wehe atu i Aotearoa e tinei i te raiti”

There used to be a saying, "would the last person to leave New Zealand switch off the light?

I enei wa tera pea ka kite tatau kua wetohia ke te raiti.

In these times, we might instead find the light was disconnected.

Kei te marama matau o te Paati Maori mo nga take, i tae mai ai tenei pire ki runga i te pepa Rarangi Korero o te Whare; na te ahuatanga pouri nei i pa ki a Folole Muliaga, tona matenga na te wetonga o te hiko i tona whare, mo te aha, mo tona nama tahi rau ono tekau ma waru tara, me te wha tekau heneti Ki ta matou möhio koia nei te ahuatanga mo nga tangata e hia ke nei i Aotearoa.

The Maori Party comes to the Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill acutely aware of the dire circumstances which prompted this Bill on to the Order Paper; the circumstances given focus through the tragic situation of Folole Muliaga and the fatal disconnection of power to her house because of an outstanding bill for $168.40 - circumstances which we now know to be a common fact of life for far too many New Zealanders.

Na te ripoata a te Manatu Whakahiato Ora o te tau rua mano ma ono, i kii mai, tekau o rau nga Pakeha, me te rua tekau ma rima o rau o te Maori kaore i utu i tetahi o a ratau nama, hiko, korohü, wai ranei i te tau rua mano ma wha. Hei ta te puringo, he taumaha ake tenei ahuatanga mo nga whanau moutere.

The Ministry of Social Development’s Living Standards report released in 2006 found that one tenth of European, and one quarter of Maori families fell behind on at least one bill for power, gas or water in 2004. The situation was, and continues to be, worse for Pacific families.

I te wiki kua taha ake nei kua rongo te Paati Maori i nga karanga pakanga nei e kii ana, ko te ahua o te törangapü, he take kaute.

The Maori Party has been harangued over the last week with the battle cry – politics is all about the numbers.

Kati, me pehea enei kaute.

Well how about these numbers:

Rua tekau ma ono ira kati whitu o rau o nga whanau Maori katoa, kare i utu wawe i o ratau nama hiko, wai, korohü i te tau rua mano ma wha

267% of all Maori families fell behind with their utility bills in 2004;

A / Or:

Tekau ma rua ira kati whitu o rau o nga whanau i Aotearoa – ara rua rau, ono tekau ma ono mano, whitu rau – kaore i utu i o ratau nama mo te wa kotahi i te tau i mua.

· 12.7% of New Zealand families – that’s about 266,700 in real terms – could not keep up with power, gas, or water payments at least once in the previous year.

Ka taea pea e nga takuta whatiwhati korero te hanga I nga momo whakautu mo te ahuatanga o enei kaute.

The spin-doctors could probably respond to these numbers in a variety of ways –

Kei te tangata tonu te tikanga ki te utu i ona nama i te wa e tika ana, a,

Me ata titiro nga kai tuku hiko i o ratau raupapa mahi

Me ata titiro te iwi ki te ahua o a ratau whakapau moni.

· New Zealanders need to take responsibility for paying their bills on time;

· The electricity industry might be invited to review their processes;

Or

New Zealanders need to look at their spending patterns.

Kare he paku raru ki enei korero, a, he tika hoki etahi, engari kua tau te he ki waahi ke, pehea te Karauna?

There’s nothing that wrong with any of these versions of the truth except, of course, that they let the Crown off the hook.

Engari anei matau o te Paati Maori te reo Maori motuhake kei te Paremata e akiaki nei i te Kawanatanga mo ona kawenga ki nga nohoanga tangata, ki te hapori, ki tenei whenua hoki.

But we, the Maori Party, the proud and independent Maori voice in Parliament, is always happy to remind Government of the responsibilities it has to consumers, to the community, to the country.

I aro ake matau ki nga korero a te rangatira o Mighty River Power me tana kii mai i te rua tekau ma rima o Pipiri. Hei tana,

" Ko nga take rawakore he raru ka pa ki te nohoanga tangata a kei a tatau katoa te whakautu. He akiaki tonu tera ki tena, ki tena, kaua ko nga kamupene hiko anake, engari, ko nga tari awhina tangata me te Kawanatanga hoki”

We were interested in a statement Mighty River Power boss, Doug Heffernan, made on 25 June where he said, and I quote

“Financial hardship is a social problem and it requires a co-ordinated community response. It requires us all to play our part, and that includes not just the power industry but social agencies and government as well.

Na ko te Pire nei, he timatanga kia uru mai te Kawanatanga. Maku tonu e kii i te tuatahi ka tautoko te Paati Maori i tenei pire na te mea he take tënei ka paa mai ki te katoa mo nga mahi weweto o nga kai hoko hiko.

This Bill, then, is Government starting to play its part. I say from the outset, that the Maori Party will support this Bill on the basis of shared concerns from across the nation about the disconnection practices of electricity retailers.

Ko ta te haahi Salvation Army na te kaha o te mana o nga kaporeihana kare nga kai mahi i te tino ngakau nui ki te hapori i runga i te ngakau atawhai.

The Salvation Army has suggested that the corporate environment is so influential that staff are discouraged from making decisions on humanitarian grounds.

Ko ta CPAG kei te pütake o te raru, ko tera e kii ana, “kare e taea e nga kaupapa o te mäkete te whakarite huarahi hei manaaki i nga whänau.

The Child Poverty Action Group emphasized the problem as being that “the purely market based approach is failing to provide secure access to essential services for too many families”.

He kaha ake te kupu o nga Uniana me ta rätou korero, I kii nei, “kua kitea äno, ko te kaupapa nui o nga Kaporeihana a Kawanatanga, ko te moni i mua noa atu i te tangata i Aotearoa nei.

The Trade Unionists put it in even stronger terms, claiming that "yet again" a "so-called State Owned Enterprise put profit before people in New Zealand".

Na te kaha takariri koia nei ta ratou panui i te 31 o Haratua ki a Mercury Energy:

They issued an angry call to picket Mercury Energy on 31 May with the following statement:

He momo kaiwhakaweti tera hunga, ko ta ratau kai ko te hunga rawa kore, te hunga pöhara o Tamaki ki te Tonga. He orite ratau ki era tangata tuku moni, ratau he pirau te ngakau kei roto i o tatau rohe e noho ana. Ka whakawhirinaki ratau ki te hunga mokemoke ki te hunga noho manene.

“they are corporate bully boys who prey on the weak, old and vulnerable of South Auckland and are no better than the corrupt money lenders who plague our communities. They rely on the fact that people feel alone and isolated”.

E te kai hautu ko te Pire kei te wanangahia e tatou i tenei rangi he whakaaro kotahi anake, ehara ko te titiro whanui ki te hiahia kia rerekë tonu nga mea whai hua.

Mr Speaker, the Bill we are considering today is but one part of a greater picture which reflects the need for economic changes to occur.

Ko nga whakatikatikatanga e whakaarohia nei mo te mahi tope hiko mo te kore utu nama, ara nga momo huarahi hei utu i nga nama, nga wa ka kaa ano te hiko, a, mo te hunga raruraru – ka tautoko katoa matou i aua kaupapa.

The arrangements that are being mooted about disconnection following non-payment of accounts; about alternative payment options; about reconnection; about identifying vulnerable consumers are honourable proposals, and proposals we will support.

Engari kare tenei Pire e muru i nga taumahatanga whai hua o tenei wa.

But this Bill does not take away the responsibility of addressing current economic realities.

Ko töna tikanga ko te mahi o te Kawanatanga he tiaki i nga whänau kia taea ai e nga whanau te utu i nga nama pënei i o ratau nama hiko.

It is surely the duty of a responsible government to ensure all whanau are able to meet basic costs such as electricity in the first place.

Kei te mohio tonu matau kua whakaritea ke e te Komihana Hiko i te tau rua mano ma wha, he kaupapa hei awhina i era, ara ko te hunga pohara.

We know that there have been guidelines in place prepared by the Electricity Commission in 2005 to assist low income domestic consumers.

Kua titiro matau ki aua kaupapa, a he mea whakamïharo era hiahia hei awhina i era e noho raruraru nei na te kore möhio me pëhea e taea ai te utu i o ratau nama hiko.

We have looked through those guidelines and their intentions to assist consumers whose low income makes it genuinely difficulty for them to pay their electricity bill is admirable.

Engari ko te tino raruraru i whakatakotohia e te Perehitini o Grey Power ara, a Graham Stairmand, nana te Kawanatanga i wero kia ngäkaunui mai ki era kua piki atu te utu mo te hiko i te ono tekau o rau i nga tau e wha ki muri

But the central problem lies in the facts outlined by Grey Power National President, Graham Stairmand, who challenged the Government to have some sympathy for consumers who have experienced a 60% increase in the cost of electricity over the last four years.

Ka whakaatu a CPAG i te raru ki nga whänau, he noho rawa kore te noho i runga i te patai:

Meina ka aukatihia te hiko, ka pehea nga tamariki i o ratau mahi ako i te kura, kia whangaihia i nga kai mähana, ki te mahi i o ratau roro hiko, ki te horoi hoki i a ratau kia kore ai e mate i nga mate tahumaero.

Me pëhea hoki!!

The Child Poverty Action Group also highlighted the ‘parlous existence of many low income families’ asking the simple question:

“How can children do their homework, get fed a hot nutritious meal, use the computer or wash themselves adequately to prevent infections when the power is cut off?”

How indeed.

Ka hoki mai ano ki aua take ano.

· Kua piki te utu o te hiko, o te wai, o nga waka, i runga ake i te ekenga o te wariu – a i runga ake hoki i nga utu mahi.

1 Kare e orite te ngahoro o nga painga ki nga whanau katoa i raro i nga painga o te kaupapa “Mahi mo Nga Whanau”. Ka riro i etahi, ka noho pohara tonu etahi.

2 He whanau tonu kare i te whiwhi i nga painga o te kaupapa “Mahi mo nga Whanau” na te kore möhio kei reira tonu taua awhina.

And yet again it comes back to the perennial problems that:

· Electricity, water and transport price rises are well above the rate of inflation - and certainly well above most wage increases;

1 Working for Families privileges certain families while families on benefits are experiencing little change, if any, in the income support available to cover rising costs;

2 Even those families eligible for Working for Families may be missing out because of lack of knowledge of the assistance that can be available to them.

He whakaaro arorau tera e kii ana me rereke nga utu mo ia rohe, mo ia rohe.

The other set of changes in this Bill, around Low Fixed Charges, seem to be logical in the emphasis on being region-specific.

Kua rongo nei matau he tino whanui tonu te rereketanga o te taake mai i tetahi rohe o Aotearoa ki tetahi; a ko nga taake iti nei he moemoea noa iho mo ratau e noho nei i nga waahi kaha mätao, kaha ranei te maku– na reira e whakaae ana matau ki nga rereketanga kei te whakaarohia mo tena rohe, mo tena rohe. He whakaaro pai era.

We are told that there is wide disparity in the Low Fixed Charge tariff coverage in New Zealand; that the low-use threshold is unrealistic for many living in colder, wetter places – and so the changes to recognise the different climates of New Zealand's different regions in the setting of tariffs seem sensible.

E te Kai hautu, tera pea ko te kaha o te riri otirä o te aroha ko nga mea nui kua ngau nei ki te ngäkau o te motu.

Mr Speaker, the moral and ethical outrage that has captured the compassion of the nation has focused perhaps too heavily on blame and shame.

Ko ta matau ara noa atu nga tino patai hei tuku mo te ahua o te mana o era, ara ko nga kai whakarato nei, mo te hiko, ki te kore mahi i ana mahi, na te kore utu nama, ahakoa, he mea waiwai tonu.

We believe there are very serious questions to be asked about how any utility provider has the power to withhold services on the basis of debts incurred; services which we would classify as essential.

Ko te ture e akiaki nei i nga kai whakarato katoa kia noho tika te mahi, ki tau te mahi, kia ora te mahi i a rätou i kimi nei i nga nama, he ture tau ake kia waihangatia e tenei Paremata.

Legislation which reminds all utility providers of the need for consistent, safe processes in recovering overdue amounts is thus a very positive thing for this Parliament to do.

Kei te koa, kia kite, kei te maumahara nga torangapu tahito ki nga tino kaupapa ara, kia haere te tangata ki mua o te ture a ka hangai taua kaupapa mo te painga mo tatau katoa o Aotearoa.

It is pleasing to see that the two older parties in particular, are remembering the essential values of access to law and justice, and to the application of that law for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

Ko ta matau wawata ano, ka titiro ano rätou ki o rätou ake pooti, a me te kimi i te tika me te pono o te ngäkau kia taea ai e rätou te kii, kii tüturu nei, ko te ara ki nga mahi tika, he tino kaupapa nui mo tenei Paremata.

We hope, too, that they may look further at their own voting record and search their souls for the truth as to whether they can say with all honesty, that they believe that access to justice is an essential principle of this Parliament.

ENDS

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